# Snorkel Venture > Small Group Snorkeling Tours > Generated by All in One SEO Pro v5.0.3, this is an llms-full.txt file, used by LLMs to index the site. ## Posts ### [Snorkeling Inspiration](https://snorkelventure.com/blog/) **Published:** September 1, 2020 **Author:** Ben Stokes --- ### [2026 Snorkel Venture Friendly Photo Competition Winners](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/18/2026-snorkel-venture-friendly-photo-competition-winners/) **Published:** September 18, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Finally! After months of receiving your stunning images, we’ve closed the 2026 Snorkel Venture Friendly Photo Competition, and we’ve declared a winner! This was an extremely tough choice, as the quality of the photos we received was top-notch. Nonetheless, we were able to carefully select our winner, who will be walking away with a $500 voucher for their next snorkeling tour with us. The other well-deserved placeholders will receive some of our new [**Snorkel for Good merch**](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/)! --- ## **1st Place: Marilyn Stacey** **Location: [Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay-by-liveaboard-coralia-liveaboard/)** **Camera: Olympus TG-7** ![People stand on the blue-green fishing boat's open deck seen from the water, with rigging and nets overhead to one side. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/1_Marilyn-Stacey-scaled.jpeg) **Judges Comments:** This photo of two whale sharks feeding beneath the bags in Cenderawasih Bay, Indonesia, is not only a technical achievement, but it beautifully portrays the relationship between the bagan fishermen and the whale sharks in one stunning photo. To be able to split the waterline with the small size of the Olympus TG-7 Camera’s lens is a feat in its own right, but to frame it so beautifully with two whale sharks, the bagan, and the fishermen is just unreal! --- ## 2nd Place: Paul Gibbard **Location: [Alor, Indonesia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-safari/)** **Camera: Olympus TG-7** ![Underwater scene with a branching white coral and red-brown algae, a school of slender rainbow-striped fish swimming through blue water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/2_Paul-Gibbard-scaled.jpeg) **Judges Comments:** Ahhh, the beauty of a muck snorkel! This photo is the epitome of what muck snorkeling is all about. When a few old mooring lines become a suspended reef that then turns into the hunting grounds for ambush predators, such as this white warty frogfish, who is surrounded by a cloud of razor fish. We absolutely love the slow burn of this photo. The longer you look at it, the more it reveals. The composition is just perfect! --- ## **3rd Place: Gary Narcowich** **Location: Togian Islands (Jellyfish Lake), Indonesia** **Camera: Nikon Coolpix W300** ![Person snorkeling underwater in a teal sea, wearing a blue mask, surrounded by jellyfish. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/3_Gary-Narcowich-scaled.jpg) **Judges Comments:** This is a truly surreal photo that perfectly captures the experience and beauty of snorkeling amongst thousands of stingless jellyfish in one of Indonesia’s jellyfish lakes. We love the reflection of the jellyfish on the surface of the water and the snorkeler’s mask. The moody lighting and greenish tint to the water really just add to the image and provide the perfect backdrop for the many dozens of jellyfish in this single frame. --- ## **Honorable Mention: Judy Backhouse** **Location: [Raja Ampat, Indonesia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/)** **Camera: Olympus TG-6** ![Close-up of a small speckled fish peering from a red coral crevice, surrounded by blue sponge-like formations. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/4_Judy-Backhouse-scaled.jpg) **Judges Comments:** We couldn’t help but honor this exceptional photo of a very cute blenny peeking its curious face out of its burrow within the coals, framed by tiny blue tunicates. This is not only a very challenging photo to take, but it also pushes the more traditional boundaries of composition, with the subject being center-focused. To capture this image no doubt took some great duck-diving skills, a keen eye, patience, and a dash of luck, as these little buggers are shy! Expertly framed and executed is all we can say. **Categories:** Photography **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, indonesia snorkeling, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, snorkeling tips, underwater photography --- ### [Snorkel Venture Podcast - Episode 4 - Amy Vankanan](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/16/snorkel-venture-podcast-episode-4-amy-vankanan/) **Published:** September 16, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Our Snorkel Guide Amy Vankanan joins us to talk about her recent trips through Indonesia’s [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-north-to-south/) and even reveals her favorite resort, [Papua Explorers](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/12/featured-house-reef-papua-explorers/), in the [north of Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/01/raja-ampat-snorkeling-tours/). Amy’s a fantastic photographer, so we of course dive deep into photography gear and techniques for those just starting out in their underwater photo endeavors. We get a surprise call from another Snorkel Venture guide before wrapping things up with Amy’s wetsuit tips for those who run a bit cold in the water. Then Amy reveals her blunt opinion on my carefully crafted cocktails, which is far from complimentary.  Listen to it on [Spotify here](https://open.spotify.com/episode/0gc0dkMG3Oph33tqNQyBSj?si=86fe8fee0446448f)! **Categories:** Podcasts **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, indonesia holidays, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Komodo Snorkeling vs. Raja Ampat Snorkeling - Which is Better?](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/14/komodo-snorkeling-vs-raja-ampat-snorkeling-which-is-better/) **Published:** September 14, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** People often ask about [snorkeling in Komodo](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/06/24/komodo-snorkeling-guide/) versus [snorkeling in Raja Ampa](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/01/raja-ampat-snorkeling-tours/)t, wanting to know which one is better. The honest truth is that one is not better than the other. These are two of Indonesia’s most prolific marine protected areas where you’ll find more species of fish and corals than anywhere else in the world. Not only that, but Raja Ampat and Komodo are known to hold some of the largest populations of reef mantas in Indonesia and the world. [Raja Ampat and Komodo are two very different regions](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/05/19/indonesias-top-snorkeling-destinations-described/) of Indonesia, separated by over a thousand miles of ocean and just as many islands, with each area housing drastically different environments above and below the tidelines. So, rather than breaking it down into which one is better for snorkeling, I’ll simply give you my comparison and contrast in terms of the snorkeling experience. Here we go!  ### **Komodo & Raja Ampat Similarities** **Reefs and Marine Life** Komodo and Raja Ampat are often put up against one another because they are two of Indonesia’s most popular snorkeling destinations. The reason Komodo and Raja Ampat have become so popular with snorkelers is that these two regions contain such an abundance and diversity of marine life that explodes from the stunning shallow coral reefs. When you snorkel in Raja Ampat or Komodo, you can be sure that you’ll encounter vibrant coral reefs, which are full of all your favorite reef fish, and larger fish too, like different types of jack fish, barracudas, Napoleon wrasse, bumphead parrotfish, batfish, and schools of fusiliers. Those encounters are sort of the staple snorkeling experience in both Raja Ampat and Komodo. Depending on the site, you can also have encounters with reef sharks like white-tip and black-tip, green and hawksbill sea turtles, and even manta rays. ![Sea turtle swimming underwater in clear blue water with snorkelers visible in the background and sunlight filtering from above; Snorkelventure logo in the top right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/P1055400.jpg)A green sea turtle in Raja AmpatWhile manta encounters can’t be guaranteed in either location, they are hands down two of the best places in Indonesia, if not the world, for more predictable encounters with these gentle giants. Where the unusual critters are concerned, once again, both Raja and Komodo offer a whole kaleidoscope of creatures that snorkelers can find and enjoy. A number of species of cephalopods like octopus and cuttlefish can be found at just about any depth, just as nudibranchs, scorpionfish, crocodilefish, and seahorses can be. Basically, in terms of a reef and marine life experience, both Raja Ampat and Komodo offer us snorkelers a very similar and unforgettable experience! ![Underwater scene: a snorkeler in black gear with a yellow snorkel glides over a vibrant coral reef, a large striped lionfish in the foreground. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/P1300866.jpg)A cuttlefish egg-laying party in Komodo**Crowds** Given that Raja Ampat and Komodo are two of the most popular snorkeling and diving destinations in Indonesia, and with flight itineraries between major Indonesian hubs like Jakarta and Bali made more accessible, you will see other resorts and liveaboards as you explore both of these areas. The good news for us snorkelers is that most of these are divers, who are exploring very different reefs than we snorkel most of the time. It’s very rare for us to come across another snorkel or dive group on the reefs in either Komodo or Raja Ampat. ![Group of people in wetsuits posing on a sandy beach with turquoise water and small rocky islands in the background. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/DJI_20251010123933_0043_D.jpg) Most operators concentrate in specific areas, leaving vast parts of each region free of other resorts or liveaboards. In Komodo, the area where you’re likely to encounter other liveaboards and day-boats is in the central area, leaving the north, south, and west of Komodo wide open, and Islands like Gili Banta and Sangeang completely free of other boats. In Raja Ampat, you’ll encounter the other resorts’ day boats and liveaboards in the area right around the Dampier Strait, which leaves the rest of Raja Ampat more or less free of other divers and snorkelers! ### **Komodo & Raja Ampat Differences** **The Weather** One major difference between Raja Ampat and Komodo is the weather. Komodo has distinct wet and dry seasons, with essentially no rain for the better part of six months. As a result, the landscape in Komodo is much more arid, with the islands primarily covered in tall brown grasses between the months of June and November. Raja Ampat, on the other hand, doesn’t have a distinct wet or dry season because it’s more tropical, with every island covered in dense rainforest. It is not uncommon for you to experience afternoon showers at least once a day in Raja Ampat. ![Split view of two coastal landscapes: left shows lush green islands and turquoise lagoons in blue seas; right shows arid brown hills along a curved shoreline with blue water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Raja-Komodo--scaled.jpg) **The Size** Another difference between snorkeling in Raja Ampat and Komodo is the distinct size difference between the two areas. If you look at a map, you’ll immediately see that Raja Ampat is significantly bigger than Komodo, approximately forty times larger! Given the massive difference in size between Raja Ampat and Komodo, you could argue that Raja Ampat offers more reefs to snorkel. That being said, I’ve been snorkeling in Komodo since 2009, and I’m still finding new snorkeling sites I’ve never been to before. Komodo is not a small area; it just looks small by comparison to Raja Ampat. If you include the areas outside Komodo National Park, like Eastern Sumbawa, [West Komodo](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/10/08/west-side-of-komodo/), Gili Banta, and Sangeang Volcano – all areas we aim to snorkel around on our Komodo liveaboard snorkeling safaris- you’re looking at well over 2,000 square kilometers. Raja Ampat is still over 40,000 square kilometers, so the size difference is still significant. ![Satellite map of Indonesia highlighting Raja Ampat and Komodo locations with white labels and markers around the islands. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Komod-vs-Raja-Map.jpg) *The smaller box within the larger box is the rough boundaries of Komodo National Park. The larger box is the area we explore by liveaboard.* **Marine Life** While you’re more than likely to encounter a similar array of species on a snorkeling trip in both Raja Ampat and Komodo, there are a few specific species you’re more likely to see in one place over another. For example, there are a few shark and ray species you’re likely to encounter in Raja Ampat that you either can’t see in Komodo or are very unlikely to encounter. Raja Ampat is home to an endemic species of shark called the walking shark, which is a type of epaulate shark. Raja Ampat has its very own endemic species of walking shark, commonly called the Raja Ampat Walking Shark, which is often found in the very shallows at night. Another unique shark species you won’t find in Komodo is the wobbegong shark, a type of carpet shark that likes to rest beneath coral bommies. ![Underwater scene with a mottled brown cuttlefish resting on a coral reef aquascape. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/IMG_6725.jpg)A wobbegong out for a swimAs for manta rays, both Raja Ampat and Komodo are home to similar manta ray populations, with records indicating that Komodo has around 1,100 reef mantas while Raja Ampat is said to have around 1,400 reef mantas. Technically, Raja Ampat has a couple hundred more recorded individuals than Komodo, but because Komodo’s a smaller area, the manta population seems to be far more concentrated. In my personal experience diving and snorkeling in Raja Ampat and Komodo since 2009, manta encounters in Komodo are far more common and predictable, and you’re more likely to find them in larger numbers. ![Aerial view of manta rays swimming in deep blue ocean. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/DJI_0580.jpg)Feeding reef mantas in KomodoNow, that only relates to the reef mantas, which are the “smaller” of the species, with wingspans measuring up to three meters in length. Both Komodo and Raja Ampat are also home to the oceanic manta, a separate species of manta with a wingspan of up to five or more meters! While both species can be seen in Raja Ampat and Komodo, sightings are very rare in Komodo and far more common at certain sites in Raja Ampat. That being said, it still requires a good deal of luck to encounter the oceanic manta rays in Raja Ampat. **The Reefs** Like the similarities in marine life encounters, with a few exceptions, the types of corals you’re likely to see on a snorkeling trip in Raja Ampat and Komodo will be quite similar. While the coral species might be the same, the structures and topography of the reefs will be very different. Most reefs in Raja Ampat have a hard limestone base, which means the snorkeling sites can be much more topographic, with steep walls, ridges, and undercuts where the waterline meets the island. In certain areas, you’ll find some fun little windows or holes in the rock island that you can swim through. One thing that you’ll also notice in Raja Ampat is that there are quite a bit more colorful soft coral colonies and sea fans that like these undercuts, walls, and windows. You can, of course, find sea fans and soft corals in Komodo–especially around the large coral bommies scattered throughout the different snorkeling sites–but you’re likely to notice more of these coral species in Raja Ampat than in Komodo. Komodo’s reefs tend to be very gently sloping–stunning–hard coral reefs with large coral bommies mixed in. ![Vibrant coral reef crowded with small orange fish swimming around the corals underwater boundless blue water | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/P1076581.jpg)A magical coral bommie in West KomodoRaja Ampat also offers a few areas where you’ll find some very different types of snorkeling sites, like village piers or jetties, and mangroves! Jetties and mangroves are kind of iconic to Raja Ampat, especially the mangroves. Komodo does have a few areas where you can explore the mangrove roots, but timing it just right is tricky, as the mangroves in Komodo are in very shallow water and you need to have just the right tide. Raja Ampat, on the other hand, has some absolutely stunning mangrove systems in clear blue water that seem to grow right out of the coral reefs. The jetty experience is also something quite unique to Raja Ampat. These village jetties cultivate their own reef ecosystems where sea fans, sponges, and soft corals grow right up the wooden pilings, creating a safe haven for a whole array of marine life. From tiny nudibranchs and various species of scorpionfish to large schools of fish. ![School of small, silvery fish swimming around a colorful coral reef underwater. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P1069791.jpg)A school of scads swirling beneath a village jetty in Raja Ampat**Visibility** Indonesia, in general, has never been known for crystal-clear water, as its waters must be full of food to support the world’s most diverse marine ecosystem, and that abundance of food suspended in the water column does affect the visibility. Komodo does tend to have much better visibility on average. There can be days when it’s crystal clear, where you can see for twenty to thirty meters. There can also be days when currents shift, and the visibility can drop to about ten meters or so, but that’s not very common. While snorkeling in Raja Ampat, you’re more likely to experience visibility in the ten- to fifteen-meter range as it rains quite a bit more in Raja. Of course, there are days or weeks when the visibility can be incredible, offering us snorkelers twenty to thirty meters of visibility, but this doesn’t happen all the time and can’t really be predicted. Once again, Raja is a massive area, so the visibility will change from island to island, but on average, I’d say that you can expect visibility to be in the fifteen-meter range, which is still excellent, especially when the reefs run right up to the surface. ![Vibrant coral reef bustling with a school of small fish swimming above colorful corals underwater. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/P1076605.jpg)A crystal-clear day in Komodo**Final Thoughts** As you can hopefully see, the snorkeling experience in both Raja Ampat and Komodo is very different, with their own unique facets that make them both worthy of a visit, or several! Of course, people might have their preferences for one or the other based upon their own snorkeling preferences and experiences they’ve had in either destination, but like flavors of ice cream, they’re all great, with each delivering its own unique experience–unless we’re talking about vanilla, which is barely even a flavor unless you smother it with loads of chocolate sauce and embed an entire carton of raspberries in it. Anyway, I hope that helps settle the debate over Raja Ampat vs. Komodo. There’s not one place that’s better than the other, just two snorkeling destinations that never fail to deliver an entirely life-changing experience with every visit. **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life, On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, Komodo, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, women snorkeling --- ### [Let's Go to the Banda Sea](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/11/lets-go-to-the-banda-sea/) **Published:** September 11, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** [The Banda Sea](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-banda-sea-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/) is a large, semi-circular body of water that lies northeast of [Alor](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) and runs up to the Seram Islands just south of [Raja Ampat’s Misool.](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-misool-snorkeling-safari/) The western part of the Banda Sea is open to the Flores Sea. At the same time, the eastern border of the Banda Sea is fringed by an arching chain of islands, atolls, and numerous semi-active volcanoes, commonly referred to as the [Forgotten Islands. ](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/forgotten-islands-snorkeling-liveaboard-coralia/)It is this chain of volcanic islands that gives the Banda Sea one of its more popular monikers, *The Ring of Fire*. ![Satellite map of eastern Indonesia showing Sulawesi, Maluku, and Papua with labeled seas and islands. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Banda-Sea-Map-copy.webp) The Banda Sea is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting bodies of water in all of Indonesia. As you can see from the map, many different seas border the Banda Sea, like the Ceram Sea, Maluku, Flores, Timor, Arafuru, and the Aru Sea, all of which flow into the Banda Sea and deliver an abundance of nutrients that feed not only the corals but also the marine life, big and small. As a result, you can find more species of coral in the Banda Sea than you can see in [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/01/raja-ampat-snorkel-guide/).[ Wakatobi,](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/12-day-wakatobi-snorkeling-safari/) for example, in the western Banda Sea, has an estimated 750 coral species. Raja Ampat’s coral count is estimated at around 550.  A quick teaser video from our last snorkel tour through the [Banda Sea and Alor with the Mermaid II liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-banda-sea-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/) Another aspect that makes the Banda Sea so special is its remarkable remoteness. Only a handful of tiny villages can be found on its islands, and with the exception of Wakatobi, which has had to build its own airstrip to comfortably and conveniently service its luxury resort, there aren’t any resorts in the area. The inaccessibility of the Banda Sea’s Islands has almost entirely spared the area from widespread tourism and development. Again, except for [Wakatobi](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/12-day-wakatobi-snorkeling-safari/) Resort, the only way to experience the [Banda Sea is to visit it by liveaboard,](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/banda-islands-triton-bay-snorkeling-liveaboard-coralia-dua/) and by doing so, you leave civilization behind, allowing you to experience Indonesia’s most pristine reefs in peace. ### **The Banda Islands** The Banda Islands are a group of small volcanic islands—ten in total—at the very north of the Banda Sea, just south of the Seram Islands. The Banda Islands are commonly referred to as the “Spice Islands” because nutmeg and mace are indigenous to these small tropical islands. Back in the day, there was significant trade among the Dutch, Portuguese, and English. Given that these three colony-collecting nations were vying for exclusive trading rights and ultimate occupation of the Banda Islands, several cannonballs were fired, forts were built, locals were enslaved, and a “rich history” was born. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Banda-Island-Pano.jpg)On our [liveaboard itineraries that include the Banda Islands,](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-banda-sea-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/) we’ll generally spend 2-3 days exploring the many different reefs. It also allows us to stretch our legs a bit, as Banda Neira — the largest of the Banda Islands — has a small town with a rich colonial history and some functional nutmeg plantations, which we’ll visit. The Banda Islands are a playground for snorkelers, as each of the emerald-green islands is fringed by stunning hard coral plateaus that abruptly drop into the deep, sapphire-blue water. While the bulk of the corals we’ll encounter around the Bandas are of the hard variety, there are still swaths of leather corals and colonies of sponges. If you can dive down a little, you’ll find massive red and orange sea fans lining the wall, along with some of the most enormous barrel sponges you’ll ever see! ![Snorkeler swimming above a vibrant coral reef underwater. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1050642-3.jpg) Where marine life is concerned, the Bandas are a reef fish enthusiast’s dream, with endless waves of red-tooth triggerfish ebbing and flowing from the reef’s edges. Mixed in with masses of red-tooth triggers, you’ll also find the very distinctive pyramid butterfly fish in vast numbers, especially if there’s a little bit of current. The shallow reef top is a great place to spot schools of goatfish and snapper, as well as many more species of butterflyfish and damsels, pufferfish, honeycomb morays, and even the occasional turtle. Given the remote nature of the Bandas, there’s really no telling what could swim by, as we’ve encountered pods of dolphins, [melon-headed whales](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/11/03/alor-the-forgotten-islands-snorkel-safari-2025/), hammerheads, and even several [whale sharks](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/06/05/snorkeling-with-indonesias-gentle-giants/) in the past! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/P1051558-scaled.jpg) The [Forgotten Islands](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/forgotten-islands-snorkeling-liveaboard-coralia/) refer to some of the most remote islands in the Banda Sea, stretching approximately one thousand kilometers from around Timor and arching their way up to the Seram Islands. This chain of islands is known as the [Forgotten Islands](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/forgotten-islands-snorkeling-liveaboard-coralia/) due to their remoteness, lack of development, and sparse population, as if the rest of the world has forgotten them. The snorkeling around the forgotten islands is–you guessed it–incredible! Separated by vast distances, each island or set of islands is entirely different from the last. Some are snaking atolls whose shallow reefs stretch for hundreds of meters but are only noticeable by a small sandbar that breaks the surface at low tides. Others are more limestone in nature, lined by white sand beaches, and sprout dense tropical forests. And of course, since these are the islands that inspired the name “The Ring of Fire”, many of the islands are your quintessential conical volcanoes, abruptly presenting themselves from the deep blue sea. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/P1055031-scaled.jpg) The reefs and marine life are just as diverse as the islandscapes are. Around the volcanic islands, you’re likely to find many more leather corals and sponges mixed in with hard encrusting corals. You’ll also see patches of chocolate colored sand where any number of invertebrates could be found. Two of the volcanoes in the Banda Sea are ultra-unique in that they are home to hundreds, if not thousands, of black-banded sea kraits, which are very different from the black and white banded sea snakes that we’re used to seeing. Depending on the time of day, you can see groups of five or more of these snakes hunting together with the jacks and emperor fish. These are two of the only islands in the world where you can witness an abundance of sea snakes such as this. Don’t worry, for you non-snake lovers; there are plenty of other species to goggle at in the Forgotten Islands; the reefs are teeming with life! ### [**Banda Sea by Liveaboard**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/banda-islands-triton-bay-snorkeling-liveaboard-coralia-dua/) My personal favorite way to experience the Banda Sea is by liveaboard. While Wakatobi Resort is a great option to immerse yourself in the Banda Sea’s turquoise waters, a liveaboard will give you the unparalleled freedom to explore its most remote islands and atolls. It might be hard to tell from the map, but every island or set of islands is roughly eighty to one hundred miles from each other. [Snorkeling the Banda Sea](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/07/23/banda-sea-snorkel-guide/) [by liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/?s=banda+sea) means you’ll experience a variety of islands, with reefs and marine life that are unique to that individual island or islands. As you travel through the night to the next destination, every morning you’re presented with a whole new vista above the water, and an entirely new adventure below the water. Also, given that there are multiple starting and finishing points for the liveaboards, there are a number of itineraries that visit different parts of the Banda Sea. For example, one itinerary could start in one of the easternmost ports in Indonesia, Saumlaki, before heading north through the[ Forgotten Islands](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/forgotten-islands-snorkeling-liveaboard-coralia/) with stops at islands like Manuk and the Banda Islands, before finishing in [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/01/raja-ampat-snorkeling-tours/). Another itinerary could start around Alor, offering you the opportunity to explore some of the most colorful reefs in all of Indonesia before heading east to islands like Wetar and the atolls around Damar, followed by the Forgotten and Banda Islands, and finishing with some world-class muck snorkeling in Ambon. These are just two of about a dozen different [Banda Sea Liveaboard itineraries!](https://snorkelventure.com/?s=banda+sea) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DJI_20250927100440_0046_D-scaled.jpg) [**Wakatobi Resort**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-wakatobi-safari/) If liveaboards aren’t your thing, then an excellent option for you to experience the surreal beauty of the Banda Sea is from Wakatobi Resort, off the southeast coast of Sulawesi. Wakatobi is a very upscale resort situated on a small palm-studded island, fringed by white sandy beaches, turquoise waters, and reefs that come right up to the surface, exploding with life and color. From the shores of this resort, you’ll be able to experience for yourself what all the fuss is about when it comes to the Banda Sea. ![Aerial view of a tropical island resort with palm trees, thatched huts along a sandy beach, a long pier, and turquoise, clear water. Logo snorkelventure visible in the top-right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/DJI_0201.jpg) While you won’t necessarily get the whole experience of being able to cruise from one unique island to the next, you also won’t be subject to the motion of the ocean for the better part of two weeks. Around Wakatobi, the snorkeling sites are close, with a maximum distance of fifteen minutes, and they are spectacular. The reefs in the area are typically characterized by a shallow coral plateau composed of a mixture of hard corals, soft corals, and sponges, with numerous sea fans and barrel sponges found where the reef transitions into a wall. The redtoothed triggerfish—the mascot of the Banda Sea—are a staple on most sites, as are things like sea snakes, crocodile fish, and every type of anemone fish you could imagine! ### **Snorkeling Highlights of the Banda Sea** As you’ve learned by now, the Banda Sea is a vast area with numerous islands, atolls, and underwater environments, each of which supports a unique habitat for various species. With that in mind, here’s a little list of some of the things that guests have found to be the trip highlights in the past. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/P1065279-scaled.jpg) [**Manuk’s Sea Snakes**](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/11/03/alor-the-forgotten-islands-snorkel-safari-2025/) The reefs around Manuk–a sulfurous volcano in the chain of Forgotten Islands–are second to none, but the thing that makes this one of the biggest spectacles is the sheer abundance of black-banded sea kraits. Depending on the time of day and current, on one snorkel, you can see anywhere from twenty to one hundred of these sea snakes scouring the reef for their next meal or coming to the surface for a quick breath of air. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/P1055100-scaled.jpg) [**The Banda Islands’ Melon-Head Whales:**](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/11/trip-report-alor-west-komodo-2026-unforgettable-encounters/) In the past, a resident superpod of melon-headed whales has been known to cruise around the Banda Islands. With a bit of luck, we’ll cross paths with them as we transit between the different islands, and they’ll ride the boat’s bow wave. This pod is absolutely massive, with up to a hundred or more individuals. We have been lucky enough to snorkel with them in the past, but encounters are very brief, as they do tend to dive as soon as you even think about getting in the water with them. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DJI_20250930124854_0067_D-scaled.jpg) **Koon’s Big Fish Aggregation** With the Banda Sea at its southern edge and the Ceram Sea to the north, the Island of Koon is home to Eastern Indonesia’s largest aggregation of spawning fish. While catching it in time for a mass spawning, which can last a few minutes to a few hours, requires an abundance of luck and precision timing, there is never a shortage of fish on this site, and they do tend to be at a depth accessible to us snorkelers. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Koon-Big-Fish.jpg) **The Walls and Reefs of Wetar and Damar** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/P1050820-scaled.jpg) Every island we’ll visit will have stunning reefs, but there’s something about the reefs around Wetar Island and the Damar Islands that gives me goosebumps. Soft corals and sea fans cling to the islands’ walls, not offering even a glimpse of their limestone foundations beneath, while hard corals mixed with sponges and leather corals carpet these islands’ shallow plateaus **Honeycomb Morays** For whatever reason, these big and beautiful honeycomb morays can be found on just about any reef in the Banda Sea. I don’t think I’ve come across one anywhere else in Indonesia, only in the Banda Sea! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Honeycomb-Morays.jpg) [**Ambon’s Critters:**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/banda-islands-triton-bay-snorkeling-liveaboard-coralia-dua/) While we don’t generally spend more than a day in Ambon, as we use it as a point of disembarkation, we can find some truly magnificent critters in the shallows. Much like Alor or the Lembeh Strait, Ambon is one of the critter capitals of the world, and everything from seahorses, frogfish, flying gurnards, ghost pipefish, and even rhinopias can be spotted here. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/P1050456-scaled.jpg) **Big Blue Whales** If you happen to be in the Banda Sea between May and October/November, there’s a very good chance of encountering the mighty blue whale. These behemoths migrate up to the Banda Sea each year to give birth and court, and can be spotted from the boat as we cross between islands. If given the opportunity, we’ll even try to get in the water with the blue whales–the largest animal to ever live. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DJI_0306-Edit.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life, On Tour, Snorkeling Guides, Tips & Advice **Tags:** Banda Sea, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, Forgotten Islands, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, liveaboard, raja ampat, snorkel liveaboard, Snorkel vacation, Snorkel with whales, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Camera Housings for the TG Series...Please!](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/31/camera-housings-for-the-tg-series-please/) **Published:** August 31, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** It wasn’t too long ago that if you wanted to take your precious camera underwater with you, you needed to jam it into a cumbersome metal enclosure so as to keep the water out. This often meant a significant additional expense in purchasing the housing, one more bulky item to pack for your snorkeling trip, not to mention the fact that the housing would increase the size and weight of your camera by two or three times. What was once a small point-and-shoot camera that could easily be operated with one hand has now become a hefty burden that requires two hands to wield. Thankfully, for those of us who want a reliable camera that fits in the palm of our hand and also functions beneath the waves, there is the [Olympus TG series](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/04/06/unboxing-the-olympus-tg-7-camera-and-housing-setup-maintenance-and-settings/). These cameras have been out for quite a while now, with the most recent model being the TG-7, and have really set the standard for what amphibious compact cameras should offer the shooter. Olympus has done such a superb job of building a camera that’s ready to be submerged right out of the box; other camera manufacturers like Sony, Canon, or Nikon have basically backed away from this corner of the market. As a result, the TG series has become the obvious camera choice for snorkelers around the world. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/P1055101-1024x682.jpg) While the TG cameras are ready to start shooting underwater straight away, I’d like to ever so delicately present the idea of purchasing a housing for your TG camera, using only the most rock-solid points. I get that this might sound a little contradictory as I’ve just set TG cameras on a pretty high pedestal for their underwater readiness sans accessories. In my opinion, the TG camera’s pedestal position is very well deserved, and I don’t offer these points on behalf of any faults with TG cameras, as their build quality is superb. I only offer this advice–based on years of snorkeling with guests and their TG cameras–because user error has always been the cause of an unhoused camera flooding. Annoyingly, people–by nature– make mistakes. I know you may think you won’t make a mistake after purchasing your brand new [TG-7 camera](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/04/06/unboxing-the-olympus-tg-7-camera-and-housing-setup-maintenance-and-settings/), but the statistical odds are stacked against you, I’m afraid, especially when a manta or whale shark suddenly swims past the boat, and you scrabble to get yourself and your camera ready to jump in the water. A housing will almost guarantee your camera’s safety while also giving you some additional ergonomic benefits. I know there are quite a few of you who are unconvinced at the moment, but please, just hear me out. ![SCUBA diver in a black wetsuit and yellow regulator hose, underwater, reaching for a red camera housing. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P1068852-1024x682.jpg) **Housing – No Stress of Flooding** The most common reason why [TG cameras](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/04/06/unboxing-the-olympus-tg-7-camera-and-housing-setup-maintenance-and-settings/) flood is because one of the hatch doors covering the battery and SD card, or the charging ports is left unlocked. On each of these doors, there is a tiny little siding lock which is very often overlooked, especially in a moment of excitement or distraction. If this little lock is left undone, you can be certain that the camera will flood and damage it permanently. With a camera housing, even if you forget to lock or even latch the compartment door, your camera will remain safe from flooding. Even in the very unlikely event that you forget to lock the camera doors, and your camera housing were to also flood as a result of a dirty o-ring, there is still a very good chance your camera won’t be damaged. When a camera housing floods, they do so slowly, and you’re likely to notice any water entering thanks to the clear backside of the housing. Once you notice water entering the housing, remove the camera before it fills and causes permanent damage. An unlocked hatch door and a little water bouncing around a housing isn’t a problem, but an unlocked hatch door and an ocean of water is a big problem. **Won’t a Housing be Big and Heavy?** Yes, even a smaller housing like the one for the [TG series](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/04/06/unboxing-the-olympus-tg-7-camera-and-housing-setup-maintenance-and-settings/) will be quite a bit bigger than the camera itself. The lucky thing is, the Olympus TG cameras are quite small, not much bigger than a smartphone, so a housing–while bigger–is still easily managed in one hand. A TG camera housing is also still[ small enough to easily pack in your hand carry luggage.](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/07/06/luggage-and-packing-tips-for-snorkeling-holidays/) When you first put the camera inside the housing and pick it up, you’re likely to find it quite heavy. If you have any sort of grip strength issues, you might think that this will be too much to handle on a snorkel. My counter to this thought is as follows: the [Olympus TG camera housing](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/04/06/unboxing-the-olympus-tg-7-camera-and-housing-setup-maintenance-and-settings/) is positively buoyant in the water, even with the camera inside. Not only will the camera and housing feel as if they weigh nothing in the water, but if you happen to drop the camera and housing, it will float. A TG camera without a housing is negatively buoyant, so if you drop it, it will sink very quickly! **Housings are More Ergonomic** To add to the fact that a TG camera and housing are easily wielded with a single hand by all, they’re also more ergonomic, especially where the buttons and dials are concerned. The compactness of a TG camera means the button layout is also compact. On land, the button layout is not much of an issue, but underwater, you’re likely to find that it’s a bit of a tedious task to differentiate between different buttons, especially with any sort of snorkeling gloves on. The housing, on the other hand, has a much broader button layout, with buttons and dials clearly identifiable by touch. There’s no confusion between one button and the next. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Remove-background-project-5-e1787826100563-1024x770.jpg) **Housings are Cheaper Than a Backup Camera** In the past, I’ve had people argue against getting a camera housing because they thought the housings would be too big and heavy for them to manage in the water, which we’ve now learned is not the case. It’s the opposite, in fact. Instead, their contingency plan for a flooded camera was to purchase a second camera. While this is one way to keep shooting underwater in the event of a flooding, it’s the more expensive option. An Olympus TG7 camera costs $550 USD, while an Olympus TG7 housing costs $350. **Which Housing to Buy?** There are a number of different housings you can buy, some better than others, based on the material and craftsmanship. Our go-to housing is Olympus’ model. It’s made from polycarbonate, so it’s lightweight yet very sturdy and easy to hold in one hand in the water. I’ve seen a lot of these housings over the years, and they always seem to function as they need to, so long as the user keeps the o-ring clear. The other housings available for the Olympus TG series cameras are also fantastic, but because most are made from aluminum, the cost increases quite a bit, as does the weight. The one housing I’d strongly recommend against is the Sea Frogs. Although made from polycarbonate the construction quality of this brand has historically been very poor. ![Two red and black underwater camera housings sit on a wooden deck by the water with distant rocky islands. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P1028219-1024x682.jpg) **Final Thoughts** I bring this up because my heart breaks a little each time a guest comes up to me with a camera full of water and we still have another week’s worth of snorkeling to do. No joke, it happens on nearly every trip. Yes, the TG cameras are waterproof, but only to a certain extent, which does not account for the human condition–mistakes. Inside the housing you get the added assurance that your cameras will not flood, even if you forget to latch the different compartments. With a housing, your camera will float rather than sink, and you can more easily operate it with one hand thanks to the larger buttons it offers. Yes, a camera housing is an additional expense, but you can’t put a price on those magical moments you captured, and it’s still cheaper than buying a second camera if your first camera drowns. The way I see it, TG camera users stand to gain so much more from putting their cameras inside a housing; there’s no reason not to! **Categories:** Equipment, Photography, Tips & Advice **Tags:** Olympus TG, Olympus TG-6, Olympus TG-7, olympus tough camera, Snorkeling Cameras, TG Camera, Underwater Camera, underwater photography --- ### [Raja Ampat Snorkeling Tours - Everything You Need To Know](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/01/raja-ampat-snorkeling-tours/) **Published:** September 1, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** If you’re considering a [Raja Ampat Snorkeling Tour](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/01/raja-ampat-snorkel-guide/), your mind is in the right place. There’s no place quite like Raja Ampat in the world. It’s the epicenter for marine life biodiversity; as such, you’ll find that over the course of your snorkel tour you will have snorkeled over and alongside more species of reef and fish than anywhere else in the world! All of this underwater awesomeness is only complemented by the surreal topside beauty that Raja Ampat has also become famous for! ![School of silver fish swimming in a dense school above a colorful coral reef in clear blue water | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P1070228.jpg) Before you book your Raja Ampat snorkel tour, though, there are a few things you’ll want to take into consideration; for example, it’s a good idea to understand just how massive Raja Ampat is—approximately 46,000 square kilometers or 29,000 square miles—with the [north and south offering very different snorkeling experiences](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/11/03/whats-the-difference-between-misool-and-raja-ampat/). You’ll also want to decide how you’d like to snorkel in Raja Ampat, by which I mean: would you rather do so from a [snorkel liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/09/pros-and-cons-of-liveaboards-and-resorts/) or from a [snorkel resort](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/09/pros-and-cons-of-liveaboards-and-resorts/), which again will impact your final decision. If this all seems a bit more decision-making than you expected, not to worry, we’re going to break down all these different aspects so you can be sure you’ve made the correct decision for your next Raja Ampat snorkeling tour.![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Raja-Boundaries.jpg) **The North of Raja Ampat – Dampier Strait and Fam Islands** Where snorkeling is concerned, the north tends to offer a bit more diversity when it comes to types of snorkeling sites. You of course the have the iconic limestone islands characteristic of Raja Ampat with their classic mushroom shape, but you also have stunning mangroves that seem to grow right out of the reefs in clear blue water, a few places where mantas come to feed and clean, and several different villages whose large wooden piers or jetties have become the perfect safe haven for large schools of fish to take refuge from the predatory pelagic fish. Around some of the limestone islands, you’ll find that the natural erosion has created some pretty fascinating underwater topography where parts of the island have been worn away, forming small caverns, and in a few places, fun swim-throughs or windows. Thanks to the mushroom shape of many of the islands, you’re likely to find colonies of vibrant soft coral and sea fans growing just beneath the surface. ![Underwater coral reef with orange and yellow soft corals and sun rays filtering from above. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P1003820.jpg) As the north of Raja Ampat has considerably more habitable land, there are more resorts and homestays in the area. You’re also likely to see more liveaboards as well, since the smaller, more budget liveaboards tend to run their tours in the north, as they don’t have the fuel capacity to make it to the south of Raja Ampat, Misool. What we’re trying to say here is that you’ll see more tourism in this area. That being said, it’s still quite minimal, and as snorkelers, we don’t really need to worry about this because the majority of the boats and resorts are catering to divers, so we won’t be meeting them on the reefs, and most of the sites we visit on our snorkeling tours are snorkeling sites and not dive sites. **Snorkel Resort Experience in the North with Papua Explorers** If you’re considering snorkeling the north of Raja Ampat from a resort, then we can’t recommend [Papua Explorers](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/12/featured-house-reef-papua-explorers/) enough, which is in the heart of the Dampier Strait. They are a fantastic resort that knows how to cater to snorkelers exceptionally well. ![Aerial view of a tropical coastline with overwater huts on stilts along a long wooden jetty, green forest backdrop, and turquoise shallow water; snorkelventure logo in the top-right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DJI_0037.jpg) We’ve been running our snorkeling tours in Raja Ampat with Papua Explorers for years and can’t recommend them enough. From their beautiful over-water bungalows to the [exceptional house reef](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/12/featured-house-reef-papua-explorers/) to the delicious food and just the general atmosphere they’ve cultivated, there’s no other resort we’d even consider in the north. Papua Explorers is perfectly situated so that transfer times to Raja Ampat’s top snorkeling sites in the north are anywhere from five to thirty minutes at most. They can even access the Fam Islands and Pianemo via a day trip, which only takes about an hour each way. **The South of Raja Ampat – Misool** [Snorkeling around Misool](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/12/22/snorkelers-guide-to-misool-resort/), which is what the south of Raja Ampat is known as, offers a slightly different experience. First of all, the islands around Misool are largely uninhabited, and except for [Misool Resort,](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/12/22/snorkelers-guide-to-misool-resort/) you won’t find any other resorts or homestays, which is nice as you won’t find too many other people around. You will, however, see a few liveaboards. Just like the north, though, most of the boats are carrying divers, so you won’t have to worry about crowded sites at all. ![Aerial view of snorkelers swimming along a rocky coral shoreline with turquoise water on the right. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DJI_0784.jpg) Misool is made up almost entirely of karst limestone islands, and as a result, the area doesn’t have the same diversity of snorkeling sites as the north. For example, there aren’t any of the village piers/jetties or mangroves like in the north. That being said, there is no shortage of amazing snorkeling sites by any means; it’s just that most of the sites are characterized by a shallow plateau covered in a mixture of hard and soft corals which eventually falls away into gentle slopes, walls, and ridges as you get further away from the island. ![Underwater scene of a snorkeler swimming above vibrant coral reef varieties like red, pink, and orange corals | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P1002782.jpg) The area also has a number of really cool swim-throughs and an amazing channel between two islands, which make for an exciting snorkeling experience! There are even a few spots where both reef and oceanic mantas can be spotted cleaning! Also, because nearly all the islands in Misool have that abrupt undercut at the waterline, it offers snorkelers the perfect vantage point for exploring the colorful soft coral colonies that love the shady areas of the reef. **Snorkel Resort Experience in the South with Misool Resort** As [Misool Resort](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tour-13-nights/) is the only resort in the south of Raja Ampat, there’s not a whole lot of options to choose from as snorkel resorts go. Luckily, Misool Resort is one of the nicest resorts to snorkel from in all of Indonesia, and some might say the world. The whole experience is truly surreal, from the stunning accommodation, the delicious meals curated by their chefs, all the different activities available, to the absolutely amazing and expansive [house reef](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/07/09/33116/); there’s no place quite like it. From Misool Resort, you can access some of the best Misool snorkel sites with a five- to thirty-minute boat ride. ![Aerial view of a tropical island with a white-sand beach, dense green forest, and overwater villas along the coast. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DJI_0209.jpg) If we’ve made picking a resort or region of Raja Ampat to snorkel difficult, why not do both with our [Raja Ampat & Misool Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-north-to-south/), which combines stops in both Papua Explorers in the north and Misool Resort in the south! **Liveaboards** We also offer Raja Ampat snorkel tours via liveaboard, which is another fantastic opportunity to explore the many different islands and regions of Raja Ampat. [The liveaboard snorkel experience](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/01/12/liveaboards-vs-resorts/) is very different than the resort-based experience. As you’re on a luxurious moving vessel, you will have the opportunity to explore the other incredible reefs that the resorts aren’t able to reach. ![A rocky coastal landscape with emerald islands and a wooden sailboat on blue water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DJI_20260111083900_0113_D.jpg) The resorts, on their normal snorkeling itineraries, only really have the ability to go a max of 30 minutes from the resort. Not only that, but in one liveaboard trip you’ll have the ability to experience what it’s like to snorkel in the north of Raja Ampat, while also being able to snorkel in the south around Misool. That’s one of the very beautiful things about liveaboards: while you’re dining and relaxing onboard between snorkels, the boat is moving, which means you’re always entering new territory, with short transfers to the reefs from the main vessel via their smaller tender boats. Transfer times from the main vessel range from a minute to five at most. We currently work with two different liveaboards for our Raja Ampat snorkeling trips; these include the [Coralia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) and the Coralia Dua, their second boat, which is just finishing being built at the time of writing this, and we have plans to start running tours on this stunning boat as soon as it’s up and running. **Final Thoughts** There’s really no wrong way to snorkel around Raja Ampat; it all comes down to your personal preference in accommodation and what you’d like to experience on your Raja Ampat snorkeling trip. Whether it’s by resort or liveaboard, you’ll thoroughly enjoy your time in the water. Once again, Raja Ampat is an absolutely massive area, and there’s no real way to fully cover it in one go, even by liveaboard. ![Diver in blue ocean swimming near a sunlit underwater cavern surrounded by a vibrant coral reef and schools of small fish | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P1002997.jpg) I used to live in Raja Ampat on a liveaboard for five years, snorkeling and diving it every day, and still visit it multiple times a year with our different Snorkel Venture tours, and I’m still finding new areas I’ve never been to before. What I’m trying to say is, you better plan on visiting it multiple times because the area just has so much to offer, and [every trip is completely different](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/24/the-beauty-of-repeating-destinations/) than the next! **Categories:** Destinations, House Reefs, Marine Life, On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, reef, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel raja ampat, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, women snorkeling --- ### [Snorkel for Good Webshop Launch!](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/25/snorkel-for-good-webshop-launch/) **Published:** August 25, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** We’re incredibly excited to finally share something we’ve been quietly working on behind the scenes for a while now…[ **the launch of the Snorkel for Good Webshop!**](https://www.snorkelforgood.com) The new website brings together everything [Snorkel for Good,](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/) our initiative dedicated to giving back to the communities and ecosystems that make the destinations we visit so special. You’ll find a collection of bespoke Snorkel Venture products, including both issues of our [magazine](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/snorkel-ventrue-magazine), [wall art featuring photographs from our trips](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/prints), [Snorkel Venture rash guards](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/rashguards) and [T-shirts](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/t-shirts), and regional [fish ID slates](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/snorkeling-accessories). **For every product purchased on the site 50% of all proceeds go directly to our five charity partners, helping support vital conservation and community projects.** [![Cover of Snorkel Venture Magazine, Issue 2, showing underwater reef scene and logo on the blue magazine cover with coral and fish artwork, 2026 detail visible on cover (informative). | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-25-at-133006-e1787654450798.png)](https://elephant-minnow-ts9h.squarespace.com) **We’re also launching our newest campaign: [Pens & Pads for Schools in Indonesia](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/donate).** You can support this campaign by making a donation towards providing essential school supplies to children in remote Indonesian communities. Many of the schools in the areas we visit lack access to even the most basic educational materials, and we hope this campaign can help change that. ![Child wearing blue swim goggles smiles underwater while holding a rope; teal banner reads 'Pens & Pads for Schools in Indonesia' | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-25-at-134523.png) You will also find conservation and marine life related articles written by our team as well as information and updates regarding our five charity partners. Snorkel for Good is incredibly close to our hearts. The Snorkel Venture team and our guests have spent years exploring these reefs and getting to know the people and communities who call them home. We also believe sustainable tourism can drive environmental change. As a company, we are deeply committed to ensuring our impact is a positive one. That’s why we dedicate our resources to giving back, protecting, and preserving the incredible places we are privileged to visit. [**Visit the site to Shop, support and snorkel for good!** ](https://www.snorkelforgood.com) **Categories:** Conservation **Tags:** conservation, Indonesia marine conservation, snorkel for good, Snorkel Venture --- ### [Turneffe Island, Belize 2026 Trip Report: Ancient Civilizations & Fantastic Beasts](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/20/turneffe-island-belize-2026-trip-report-pyramids-and-beer/) **Published:** August 20, 2026 **Author:** Paul Duxfield **Content:** Sometimes a cold beer, a long journey and a couple of ancient civilizations collide in the most unexpected way. I’m sipping a Belikin Beer — no, let’s be more accurate, I’m quickly downing one — in the bar at the Fort George Hotel in Belize City when I notice the condensation beading on the label. And then I spot the pyramid. A quick Google later and I discover that the pyramid on my now-empty bottle is the pyramid from Altun Ha the Mayan archaeological site we regularly visit on our Belize trips. The coincidence is that I’d arrived in [Belize](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) that very morning from [Egypt](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-snorkeling-safari-2025/), where I’d just completed another Snorkel Venture trip. [Our Egyptian trips](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-snorkeling-safari-2025/) often include visits to the [incredible structures and antiquities of Ancient Egypt](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/06/17/trip-report-egypt-snorkel-safari-2026/). And one of Egypt’s most popular beers is Sakara, which also has a pyramid on its label — this time one of the earlier dynasty pyramids at Saqqara. Now, I’ve no idea if the producers of the Belizean and Egyptian beers are somehow in collusion, which I very much doubt. But it did strike me as rather odd that both national beers feature pyramids. So what has all this got to do with snorkeling? Bear with me, I’ll get to that bit shortly. ![Snorkeler in a blue wetsuit glides underwater near bright yellow coral, a purple jellyfish nearby, with snorkelventure logo in the top-right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ExtEdit-6094327-1024x830.jpg) When we meet our Snorkel Venture guests in Belize City — or Cairo — it would be a crying shame not to explore some of the local culture when the opportunity arises. Altun Ha is less than an hour away by minivan”, making it an ideal morning excursion before we transfer to Turneffe Island. I’d taken more than 30 hours to reach Belize from Egypt, but for our mainly American guests, the flight from Miami is only around two hours. Even from further afield in the US, the Caribbean is relatively close, making a week in Belize a very doable holiday without eating too heavily into precious vacation time. So, the next morning, after meeting a mixture of new faces and familiar ones, we set off early to beat the heat and crowds, heading towards Rockstone Ponds, home of Altun Ha. The local agricultural villagers had been using limestone blocks from the area for years, only to discover in the 1960s that they were actually lining an ancient man-made reservoir. This piqued the interest of archaeologists, who subsequently discovered an entire Mayan city in the surrounding jungle, complete with burial mounds and precious jade artifacts. The site became a treasure trove of discoveries, helping to illustrate what life was like for the Maya over nearly 2,000 years, from around the 10th century BC to the 10th century AD. Albert, our regular guide, is a mine of information, bringing the fascinating story of Mayan culture and its place in Belizean history to life. He takes us right up to the present day too, explaining the many different ethnic groups that make up modern Belize, including the Mennonites, in a country of approximately 400,000 people. What’s particularly nice about Altun Ha is that, while the pyramids are impressive, they’re rather more climbable than their Egyptian counterparts — provided you’re reasonably fit. From the top, you’re rewarded with views across the surrounding jungle. A quick side note about pyramids.Those with more active imaginations sometimes look at the remarkably similar geometric structures found around the world, built by peoples separated by oceans and thousands of miles, and conclude that there must be some otherworldly explanation. A few years ago, one of our guests, a civil engineer, patiently explained to another guest who was confidently proposing ancient alien assistance that pyramidal structures are, quite simply, one of the easiest shapes to build if you need stability and longevity and don’t have access to modern construction techniques. So I’m sorry if you’re inclined to believe that chap with the funny hair on the Discovery Channel, but I’m sticking with the more mundane explanation! [**Turneffe Island Resort**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) After our morning absorbing Mayan culture, the afternoon is dedicated to a long, lazy lunch before our boat transfer to our final destination for the week. Turneffe Island Resort is a small, 14-acre private island at the southern tip of Turneffe Atoll, part of Belize’s barrier reef system. The reef is second only to Australia’s Great Barrier Reef in size and is an important marine ecosystem — and we had a whole week to snorkel it. The resort deliberately keeps things small, with around 20 lodges, cabins and villas. It’s also entirely self-sufficient in electricity and fresh drinking water. ![Underwater scene with four snorkelers swimming upward toward a bright sun, blue ocean surrounding them. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ExtEdit-6094552-1024x663.jpg) ![Sea turtle swimming underwater near a sandy seafloor with seagrass and a blue background, logo in the top-right corner (snorkelventure). | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ExtEdit-6094565-1024x731.jpg) Being small, it’s wonderfully easy to navigate. Nowhere is more than a few minutes’ stroll through the palms and sand. There’s a freshwater pool beside a circular bar where we’d congregate after a day’s snorkeling for pre-dinner drinks and cocktails, comparing notes on what we’d seen. The accommodation is slickly appointed, with hardwood construction and locally made furnishings throughout. Rooms have both indoor and outdoor showers. At 7pm, a dinner bell announces that food is being served, either inside or outside the restaurant. We’re treated to a delicious array of family-style dishes with a local slant. They’ll happily cater for all tastes too. Breakfast and lunch are served here as well, and all three meals were delicious and plentiful. If you’re still feeling peckish between meals, cookies and local savory pastries are available in the restaurant to keep hunger at bay. **The Snorkeling** One of the questions I’m asked most often on our Snorkel Venture trips is: “What’s your favorite place to snorkel?” I can’t answer it. It’s a bit like asking me, “What’s your favorite food?” or “What’s your favorite band?” The answer will be different for different people — and, to be honest, it can be different for the same person from day to day. Before I travelled as much as I do now, I’d mainly experienced the Red Sea, so that naturally framed my opinion. Then I visited Indonesia for the first time. It was so different and unfamiliar that it immediately became my new favorite place. But the more I travelled and returned to different parts of the world, the more I began to appreciate their differences rather than trying to create some sort of league table. My initial response to the Caribbean was that it looked wonderfully unfamiliar, but perhaps lacked something compared with[ Indonesia](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/indonesia/) or the Red Sea. After returning many more times, I’ve completely reevaluated that opinion. ![Underwater scene with colorful coral in the foreground and a snorkeler swimming in the blue ocean in the background. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ExtEdit-6104809-1024x865.jpg) What I love most about the Caribbean now is precisely what makes it different. The reefs around Turneffe Atoll include walls surrounding patch reefs, not unlike other parts of the world. But here’s the important distinction from a snorkeling perspective: the patch reefs are where you snorkel. Unlike the Red Sea, where fringing reefs dominate and there often isn’t much happening in the top six feet of water, Turneffe Atoll has huge areas of super-shallow patch reef. They’re studded with little coral bommies, sea fans, sea rods and rocky outcrops, providing homes for dozens of species of fish and crustaceans. ![Snorkeler swimming above a colorful coral reef in clear blue water, fins visible on the swimmer's feet. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ExtEdit-6094703-1024x768.jpg) It’s a vibrant slice of marine life right at the surface — and absolutely perfect for easy snorkeling. Of course, there are deeper spots to explore too. But if you’re a casual snorkeler who is perfectly happy staying on the surface and looking down, you’ll be very well served here. And if you enjoy a bit of duck diving, there are plenty of opportunities for that too. Most of these sites are reached within about 15 minutes of leaving the dock. There’s a morning snorkel at 8:30am and an afternoon session at 2pm, leaving plenty of time to explore the little breakwater outside the restaurant and pool area before happy hour at 6pm. There are also paddleboards and small boats available if you fancy exploring around the island under your own steam. **Fantastic Beasts and where we found them** There’s something quite magical about discovering a sleepy Nurse Shark in the shallows. They’re one of the larger regular encounters while exploring the sprawling patch reefs around Turneffe. ![Underwater scene showing a large brown reef shark resting on a sandy seabed among coral and sea fans, with sunlight filtering from above. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ExtEdit-6104798-1024x814.jpg) It’s also not unusual to see big stingrays here. Those creatures are relatively easy to spot because of their size, but there’s so much more to discover: angelfish, drums, morays, groupers and loads of different damselfish amongst the sponges and corals. There are also plenty of crustaceans, including lobsters and arrow crabs, hiding in darker corners. And that’s one of the joys of snorkeling here: it rewards you for slowing down and really looking. **A Grand Day Out** On our Turneffe itinerary, we always try to include a visit to the [Great Blue Hole](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/08/05/into-the-blue-in-belize/), one of the highlights of visiting Belize.But, as you’ll see, it’s much more than simply the three snorkels we do that day. We have an early breakfast at 7am before boarding the boats at 7:30. It takes around 90 minutes to reach the site, which was popularized by Jacques Cousteau in the 1970s. ![Close-up of a large mottled fish in a coral reef, facing the camera; snorkelventure logo in the top right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ExtEdit-6094532-1024x795.jpg) The Great Blue Hole is a submerged karst sinkhole, reaching more than 400 feet in depth and measuring around 1,000 feet across. As snorkelers, though, it’s the rim that interests us most. It’s a riot of colorful fans and swaying soft corals, and one of my favorite places to shoot split shots with a GoPro. It was a little windy on the day we visited, but inside the Blue Hole it was noticeably calmer, making it surprisingly easy to pull off a split shot — something that, if you follow my posts, you’ll know I rather enjoy. After the Blue Hole, we headed to nearby Half Moon Caye, part of the larger Lighthouse Reef system. While we snorkeled, the industrious Turneffe catering team set up our picnic lunch. After our snorkel and lunch, we had time to explore Half Moon Caye, which is famous for frigate birds and boobies aplenty. These birds are protected by the Audubon Society, which has a base and rangers stationed here. ![Split-view scene with a bright blue sky and white clouds above the water and a colorful coral reef beneath the surface. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ExtEdit-0178051-1024x805.jpg) ![A large bird with outstretched wings soars over a green treetop against a blue sky, with a snorkelventure logo in the top-right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ExtEdit-6094619-1024x806.jpg) After lunch, we headed back towards base, but not before stopping at Long Caye for our final snorkel of the day. It’s a great place to see turtles and eagle rays, but I’m always drawn to the amazing sponges — particularly the yellow tube sponges and enormous reddish barrel sponges. A fun fact about[ barrel sponges: they are amongst the oldest living organisms on the planet](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/07/31/on-the-reef-age-really-is-just-a-number/), living for up to 2,000 years. They truly deserve their nickname, the Redwoods of the Sea. We had plenty to talk about at happy hour, gathered around the cocktail bar as the sun began to set. ![Underwater coral reef with a large orange-red coral in the foreground and blue ocean in the background. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ExtEdit-6094709-1024x768.jpg) **Goodbye Island Life** On our last night, Turneffe hosts a lovely beach BBQ. June weather can be a little mercurial, so we were relieved when the threatening wind held off and we could enjoy our final evening outside, being amply fed with delicious grilled food — shrimp, steak, fat sausages, chicken and corn on the cob, accompanied by salads and vegetables galore. And, naturally, there were desserts if you still had room. The weather had threatened to turn windy, as it had a day earlier, but we got away with it and stayed outside for the duration. Most of us left by tender the following morning after what seemed like a very quick week — although, at the same time, it had been absolutely jam-packed with amazing memories. Two of our group opted for a helicopter transfer to the airport because they needed a quick connection back to the States. And yes, there’s a helipad on Turneffe Island. Of course there is! ![Close-up of a striped brittle star underwater with long orange arms radiating from a central disk; logo text in the top right corner reads 'snorkelventure'. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/ExtEdit-6120020-1024x841.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life, On Tour, Trip Reports **Tags:** Belize blue hole, best place to snorkel, GoPro, Olympus TG, Snorkel Belize, snorkel coral reef --- ### [Every Snorkel Makes A Difference: $13,800 Raised For Conservation](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/06/17/every-snorkel-makes-a-difference-13800-raised-for-conservation/) **Published:** June 17, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** Since January, $100 from each Snorkel Venture booking has quickly added up to a whopping $13,800 in the donation pot! So, we thought we’d check in with our charity partners to see how your donations have contributed to projects that are driving social and environmental change. Although as snorkelers we are focused on what lies beneath the waves, the health of the coral, fish, whales and dolphins, nudibranchs, sea stars and anemones is often determined by what happens above the waves. Many of the biggest threats to marine life come from human activity, which means protecting the environment starts with changing behaviors. And that starts with education. So with that in mind, this quarter we’re highlighting how your donations are helping our [charity partners](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/) invest in the next generation of environmental custodians. ![Group of children wading in waist-deep water at a tropical shoreline, with a colorful coral reef visible beneath the surface. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/683017379_1577299651062178_2611356028481084405_n.jpg) [**Classroom of Hope**](https://snorkelventure.com/classroom-of-hope/) Our most recent charity partnership is with [**Classroom of Hope**](https://snorkelventure.com/classroom-of-hope/)**,** an organization based in Lombok who are tackling multiple social issues with one clever solution. When a huge earthquake shook through Lombok in 2018, 400 schools were either damaged or completely demolished, leaving thousands of children without a safe space to learn. COH is rebuilding the earthquake damaged schools using blocks made from compressed recycled plastic. Each classroom built utilizes 1.8 tonnes of plastic waste, locally collected, washed, shredded and compressed into bricks. But COH doesn’t stop there, alongside their construction projects they run community enrichment and environmental education projects, that strive to create long lasting social change. One particular movement I’d like to highlight is COH’s Early Marriage Prevention Program. This program equips selected junior high school students to become peer counselors. The counselors, educate their peers on subjects such as reproductive health, sanitation and risks associated with early marriage and pregnancy. Having this information conveyed to them from a fellow student, has a strong impact on these young women, who might otherwise be married as early as 14 years old. Early marriage very often leads to leaving school, falling pregnant and losing the opportunity to further education or employment. The program was developed in response to priorities identified directly by local communities through extensive consultation, helping create supportive environments where young people can make informed decisions about their futures. **We are proud to acknowledge that through our every trip campaign, your snorkeling has already raised $5,000 for COH this year, turning every trip into meaningful impact!** [**Manta Trust** ](https://snorkelventure.com/manta-trust/) Our [snorkelers often have the joy of swimming alongside manta](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/06/16/best-places-to-snorkel-with-mantas/) and devil rays on our tours. We visit spots where rays gather to feed or clean, mostly in marine protected areas which are safe havens for these species. So, it may seem shocking to learn that all 10 species of manta and devil rays are critically endangered, primarily due to fishing activities. It’s hard to reconcile the abundance we experience on our tours with the reality these animals face globally. Yet without conservation action, future generations may never have the same encounters that leave so many of us in awe. We are proud to support [**Manta Trust** ](https://snorkelventure.com/manta-trust/)on their mission to reverse this trend. **Project Highlight – Mobular Project Indonesia:** One of Manta Trusts numerous education initiatives, is the Mobular Project Indonesia. Through which, Manta Trust is funding students through university programs that enable young Indonesians to pursue a career in shark and ray research and conservation. Every internship, research project, and student presentation represents another advocate for our oceans and another chance to change the future for sharks and rays. **None of this work is possible without donor support. This quarter, your bookings contributed $5,000 to Manta Trust. Through matched funding, that became $10,000 of direct support for education, research, and conservation initiatives that are protecting rays worldwide.** ![Aerial view of hundreds of small boats densely arranged in a diagonal cluster on blue ocean, with a few solitary boats nearby. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/653056328_1537585548366922_3789320616349143762_n-1024x682.jpg) **Reef-World Foundation** Education doesn’t stop when we leave school. As our understanding of marine ecosystems continues to grow, so does the importance of ensuring tourism operator practices evolve alongside the latest research. The Reef-World Foundation helps make this possible through its Green Fins program, which provides science-based guidelines and education for responsible marine tourism. Green Fins-certified operators are committed to minimizing their impact on marine life and protecting the ecosystems they visit. As research reveals more about the behavior, intelligence and fragility of species such as manta rays and whales, as well as ecosystems such as coral reefs and seagrass beds, responsible interaction becomes increasingly important. Reef-World helps operators stay informed and apply best practices in the field. Since January, Snorkel Venture has donated $3,800 to support Reef-World Foundation and its initiatives, helping promote responsible marine tourism. **We feel incredibly grateful to be able to give back to the wild places and communities we visit. Snorkel Venture would like to thank our guests. Whether you’ve joined us for one snorkel safari or ten over the years, your bookings have contributed to a real and meaningful impact.** [Visit our website to find out more about our Snorkel for Good program and our charity partners!](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/) **Categories:** Conservation, Destinations, Marine Life, Tips & Advice **Tags:** charity, classroom of hope, conservation, donations, education, fundraise, manta trust, reef world foundation, snorkel for good --- ### [Where to Snorkel with Whale Sharks](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/06/05/snorkeling-with-indonesias-gentle-giants/) **Published:** June 5, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Whale sharks are very much a bucket list creature for most snorkeling enthusiasts. A few reasons contributing to their fame amongst ocean lovers could be because they are sharks—the largest of all the shark species—only they don’t have the intimidating set of serrated teeth most sharks are equipped with. They spend a large part of their time hoovering up their planktonic prey on the ocean’s surface, where us snorkelers can enjoy swimming next to them, and on top of that, they are covered in polka-dots! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/P1777386.jpg) If you’ve ever encountered whale sharks randomly in the wild, like you’re just snorkeling along a reef and you happen to see one swimming towards you, for example, you will very likely have had the same experience everyone else has had in this same situation. You see the whale shark and get excited. It doesn’t appear to be moving fast, but as it gets closer, you soon realize it’s moving at an incredible pace despite its slow tail movements. You try to keep up with it, but after a few seconds, you are well behind it, and there’s no chance of you ever catching up. This is a very typical whale shark encounter. A few seconds of excitement, and then it disappears back into the blue, leaving you floating on the surface, questioning whether or not that encounter actually happened. In fifteen years of working as a professional guide and underwater camera dude in waters where whale sharks are known to live, I have seen a grand total of three whale sharks by chance, and the combined time I was able to spend with these three whale sharks is less than a minute. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/P1799665.jpg) There are many places around the world where you can snorkel with whale sharks. Australia’s Ningaloo Reef is one of the most famous, as the operators there can almost guarantee sightings since they use spotter planes to find the sharks. The only thing is that the sharks there are moving quickly as they swim up and down the coast in search of food. Encounters are brief and generally full of other snorkelers. In a few spots in Mexico, you can find some of the world’s largest congregations of whale sharks as they come to feed on masses of tuna eggs and plankton. The sharks are there to feed, so you can generally spend a good amount of time swimming alongside them, however, you will also encounter several hundred other snorkelers trying to do the same, not to mention the fact that they make you wear giant orange life jackets! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/IMG_1661r-1024x682-1.jpg) So, where can we predictably swim next to whale sharks without the hordes of other snorkelers? Well, Indonesia’s [Triton Bay,](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) [Cenderawasih Bay](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay-by-liveaboard-coralia-liveaboard/) in West Papua, along with [Saleh Bay in Sumbawa](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/), have the largest population of whale sharks in all of Indonesia. In the case of Triton Bay and Cenderawasih Bay, local regulations only allow one group to be around the sharks each day, and you can predictably swim alongside them for hours at a time since sharks are there to feed on the bait fish these two bays naturally cultivate. While Saleh Bay does have protocols in place to safeguard the well-being of the whale sharks, it does allow more people in the water with them, so you can expect to see other people enjoying the sharks alongside you. Oh, you also don’t need to wear a cumbersome life preserver if you don’t want to! Indonesia’s Cenderawasih Bay, Triton Bay, and Saleh Bay offer unique and much more prolonged encounters with whale sharks because of a semi-symbiotic relationship formed over many decades between the sharks and unusual-looking fishing boats called bagans. For years, fishermen across Indonesia have been fishing for anchovy-like fish from bagans. These are large bamboo platforms/boats with giant nets that hang beneath the strange floating structures. At night, the fishermen lower the nets beneath the platform and then use a set of very bright lights to lure shoals of these small fish into the nets. All night, these fishermen lower and raise their nets full of fish. The smell of the concentration of fish attracts the whale sharks. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DJI_20240720044926_0028_D-Enhanced-NR.jpg) Rather than see the large sharks as a nuisance, the local fishermen appreciate the whale sharks’ presence as they believe the large animals are a good omen for their catch. Nowadays, this relationship also provides the fishermen and their communities with an additional source of income as liveaboards and resorts pay the fishermen a fee to snorkel and dive with the whale sharks around their bagans. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/P1011365-scaled.jpg) The way a typical bagan/whale shark snorkeling experience works is as follows. If you are on a liveaboard, the liveaboard will anchor in the bay where all the bagans are fishing, generally the night before. The following morning, well before the sun rises and the fishermen stop fishing, the liveaboard will send out one of the tender boats to find the bagan with the most whale sharks around it. The sharks typically congregate around one or two bagans. Once they’ve established which bagan has sharks, the snorkeling can commence, usually just after the sun has come up. If you are snorkeling from a resort, you will generally depart the resort very early in the morning so that you arrive at the bagans just as the sun is coming up. You’ll then search for the bagan with the whale sharks, and once found, the pool is open! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DJI_20240719132000_0001_D.jpg) Very likely, one of the first things you’ll notice once in the water is that the whale shark or sharks are sitting vertically in the water right under the bagan, seemingly gasping for air as their mouths open and close at the waterline or sometimes above the waterline. Like all sharks, whale sharks have gills so they aren’t gasping for air, instead, they are feeding on the small fish that the bagan fishermen are now throwing back into the water to entice the whale sharks to stay around. Once the nets go up, so does the opportunity for food, and the sharks move on. However, the resort or liveaboard will make an agreement with the bagan in where they buy some of the fish they’ve caught to feed the sharks and keep them around the bagan so we can snorkel with them. With the help of the fishermen, the whale sharks will stay around the bagans all day and will often attract more sharks. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/P1755911.jpg) Now, I’m going to guess that there are a few of you who are thinking something along the lines of, “I don’t like the fact that the sharks are being fed; this is a manipulated encounter that could affect the shark’s natural feeding and migratory habits.” When I first heard that the sharks were being lured in by food, I felt the same way. However, after speaking with some whale shark experts who’ve spent years studying the interaction between the sharks, bagans, and tourists, while doing a bit of my own research, my concern for the well-being of the sharks has been put at ease. You see, whale sharks aren’t migratory species, at least not in the same way some whales and many other species are, with very specific routes during specific times of the year. According to Conservation International, a global conservation agency who’s been operating a whale shark monitoring initiative here in Indonesia since 2015 using tracking devices mounted on the animals, “[These whale sharks (tagged in West Papua, Indonesia) are not as migratory as many believed.](https://www.conservation.org/blog/deep-dive-new-findings-from-our-whale-shark-watchers)[ They disperse periodically in different directions, covering distances up to 1,000 miles, often to return to ‘home waters’ in a matter of weeks.”](https://www.conservation.org/blog/deep-dive-new-findings-from-our-whale-shark-watchers) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Screenshot-2024-12-04-at-12.56.19 PM.jpg) Another thing to note about the whale sharks in Cenderawasih, Triton, and Saleh Bay is that the sharks often seen in these places are adolescent males who have not yet reached sexual maturity. Two of the big factors that contribute to a species migrating are mating and food. If the whale sharks aren’t mating yet and have a bay full of food, with or without the bagans, there’s no reason for them to leave. To add to that, in a collaborative effort between Conservation International and the Georgia Aquarium to assess the overall health of the whale sharks in Cenderawasih Bay, the research teams were able to confirm that the sharks were not only healthy but also didn’t show any signs of stress as a result of the human interactions. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/P1777126.jpg) I think we can all agree that it would be a dream come true to be able to snorkel along reefs and predictably encounter whale sharks that we could swim alongside for extended periods of time in a completely natural setting. This is just not a reality, though, as pelagic species like whale sharks don’t just hang around reefs because reefs don’t support their food source. Again, you might get lucky with a quick flyby from a whale shark as it searches for its next meal or mate, but to predict these encounters is nearly impossible. If we want to swim alongside the largest shark in the ocean for hours at a time, the only way to do so is to go to where their food is, in this case, it’s around bagans. For us snorkelers, bagans cultivate the ultimate whale shark snorkeling experience as there is nowhere else in the world where you can snorkel alongside multiple whale sharks at a time in the wild, for hours at a time, without hordes of other snorkelers in the water with you. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/DJI_20240731152709_0032_D-scaled.jpg) Triton Bay, Cenderawasih Bay, and Saleh Bay are all are very remote regions of Indonesia, which naturally helps keep tourism at bay. It also means there are a limited number of options for snorkeling in either of these places. To snorkel with the [Cenderawasih Bay](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay-by-liveaboard-coralia-liveaboard/) whale sharks, you have to do it via liveaboard, as there are no resorts in the area. [Coralia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay-by-liveaboard-coralia-liveaboard/) is a fantastic liveaboard and one of the few liveaboards in Indonesia running snorkeling safaris to Cenderawasih. Coralia will generally spend a couple of days snorkeling with the whale sharks around the bagans, but before and after the whale shark experience, the liveaboard will spend days exploring all the different islands and atolls, which are just brimming with tropical life. [Triton Bay](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/)–which is much smaller by comparison, can be snorkeled much more easily from a resort. There is only one resort called Triton Bay Divers and they’ve been operating in Triton Bay since 2015. From this picturesque little resort, you can not only access the bagans where the whale sharks come to feed but also enjoy the absolutely stunning reefs that the area is famous for. As this area is much smaller than Cenderawasih Bay, we usually combine the tour with another week in [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/). Saleh Bay is accessible by land and by liveaboard. It’s only a forty-five-minute flight from Bali, but there are no reasonable resorts in the area, which is why we visit Salah Bay via liveaboard either before or after spending time in and around Komodo. Currently, we are operating with two different liveaboards, the Mermaid I as part of our [Komodo & Beyond Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/komodo-beyond-snorkeling-safari-mermaid-i-liveaboard/), and the Naga Biru who will be running our [West Komodo & Sumbawa Snorkeling Safari.](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Komodo & Beyond with Mermaid I** **West Komodo & Sumbawa: Whale Shark Experience with Naga Biru** There are a lot of animals in the ocean that are thrilling to encounter. Octopus and other cephalopods like cuttlefish are mind-bendingly awesome as they change color, textures, and shapes right before your eyes. Turtles fill us with a sense of peace and tranquility as they calmly glide over the reefs. Then there are mantas, the fish with the largest brain-to-body ratio and one of the few ocean animals to make direct eye contact with people while seemingly trying to communicate by bobbing their heads and unfurling and furling their cephalic lobes. Of course, all of these animals are exquisite, and swimming with them will never stop being an experience we crave, however, there is nothing quite comparable to swimming alongside the largest shark in the ocean, sometimes up to eight individuals at a time, all of which are covered in a comical pattern of polka-dots and clearly have a one track mind, FOOOOOOOD! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/P1777497-scaled.jpg) **Categories:** Marine Life, On Tour **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, Komodo, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Five Tips for Getting the Perfect Over-Under Photo](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/11/05/five-tips-for-getting-the-perfect-over-under-photo/) **Published:** November 5, 2020 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** The over-under or split shot, where in a single image the photographer has managed to photograph something underwater while also capturing what’s happening above the water, is a real crowd pleaser. These types of photos look incredibly difficult to do, but actually they are quite simple if you follow a few simple steps. **5. Large Dome Port** ![Photographer photographing river scene | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/MG_3582.jpg) In order to capture what’s going on above and below the water we not only need a wide angle lens, but also a larger dome port to provide maximum surface area were we can really get that division of land and underwater. If you are using a smaller compact camera where the lens surface areas is about an inch in diameter the chances of capturing a split shot are not very good. However, if are using a camera housing that allows for a larger dome port than you just need to follow the next steps. **4. Shallow subject** ![split shot of hard coral reef and raja ampat islands | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_8105.jpg) The best results will be when you have a subject in [shallow shallow water](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/07/21/shallow-water-freediving-5-simple-ways-to-improve-your-time-underwater/), anywhere from a few inches in depth to a couple feet. Anything deeper than four feet or so makes it difficult to capture the subject in nice natural light, but also makes it challenging to include both the topside and underwater subject in the same frame. **3. Balancing the Natural Light** ![split shot of hard coral reef and raja ampat islands | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_5030.jpg)***An example of a correctly balanced image. Photo taken at mid day with full sun.*** Light is key for this type of photo as we rapidly run short of light underwater, even in just a few feet. If we want to have balanced light throughout the photo, where the topside and underwater subject share a similar exposure, we need a nice sunny day and also to remember to keep the sun behind us. If we start facing into the sun or shooting too early in the day or too late in the afternoon where the light not as strong ,our exposure throughout the frame won’t match, leaving us with a blown out landscape or a very dark underwater subject. Bright light in shallow water is best. ![Over under with reefscape below and island above | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_5070-copy.jpg)***An example of a photo where the light is incorrectly balanced. Photo taken at mid day but conditions were overcast and balancing the light was impossible with out artificial lighting.*** **2. Water Line** ![coral reef below blue sky | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Alex-Lindbloom_Mola-Mola_IMG_6736-copy.jpg) Aside from what you choose to include in the photos, getting the water line just right is one of the aspects of the image which will either make or break it. As the underwater subject will general be the stronger of the two subjects I try to favor it by giving it a bit more space in the frame. If you look at most over under shots you’ll see that roughly two-thirds of the frame are underwater, with the remaining third above water. Something else to consider with the water line is weather you want it to be a smooth water line or a bit wavy. Of course, a lot of this will depend on the surface conditions, but you can experiment a bit with this for some varied results of the same subjects. Also, something really important to note is that the longer you leave the lens/port out of the water, the more water droplets will form. For best results have your camera submerged until you’re ready to take the shot (have the composition already planned in your head) and then quickly but smoothly bring it out of the water until you have the composition you intended, and click the shutter. This whole process should take not much longer than a couple seconds. The final thing I’d like to add is that a healthy amount of spit spread over the lens and then rinsed off will keep water droplets from building up on your drying port. **1. Subject Selection** ![Mangrove scene with coral reef below | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/IMG_6926.jpg) Subject selection is paramount here as we are now selecting two subjects which can be combined in a similar image. Many times I’ll find a fantastic shallow reefscape that would be ideal for including in a split shot, but then there’s nothing to include in the above portion. While I think it’s usually best to have both an interesting above water and underwater subject, there is a way to still get an interesting split shot with no above ground subject. If there is just nothing to include above the water, you can try to make an interesting water line by rocking the camera forward and back while still keeping it half submerged as I press the shutter. This way you’ll have a bit of blue sky and clouds, some turbulent water washing across the lens, and then a brilliant reefscape below. **Categories:** Photography, Tips & Advice **Tags:** Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, Komodo, photo, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography --- ### [The colourful world of Nudibranch](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/10/18/the-colourful-world-of-nudibranch/) **Published:** October 18, 2023 **Author:** Marcus Blake **Content:** These small and beautiful creatures are ever more becoming popular in the world of snorkeling. Over the past few years it’s great to see more macro species, becoming a must see on our snorkeling trips. With Nudis ( Nudibranch ) being at the top of the list. With so many variations of colour, size and shape they are a spectacle for the eyes. The best part of this, is we can find them on [almost all our tours.](https://snorkelventure.com/2024-tours/) Top tip for finding nudis. Stay close to the local guides. They have eagle eyes for these things.![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_9549-1-scaled.jpg) Nudibranchs are a type of sea slug, and there are over 3000 species found from across the globe in both shallow and deep water. Though they often only reach a small size, they are famous for their spectacular colour and patterns. Nudibranchs get their name from the Greek (nudi) and latin (branch) words meaning “naked gills”. There are two main types of nudibranchs: dorid nudibranchs look fairly smooth, with a tuft of feather-like gills toward the back of the animal that are used to breathe. Aeolid nudibranchs instead breathe with organs called cerata covering their backs. ![Nudi | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Picture-2-scaled.jpg) Nudis are hermaphroditic, having a set of reproductive organs for both sexes, but they cannot reproduce by themselves. Mating involves a dance-like courtship. Nudibranchs typically lay their eggs in spiral formation, which is often described as looking like a ribbon or even a rose flower. The number of eggs varies, it can be as little as just 1 or 2 eggs, or as many as 25 million. The eggs can contain toxins from sea sponges as a means of warding off predators. After hatching, the infants look almost identical to their parents, though smaller. The lifespan of nudibranchs can range from a few weeks to a year, depending on the species. ![Nudi | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/P9230717-copy-scaled.jpg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_3979-2-scaled.jpg) All known nudibranchs are carnivorous. Some feed on sponges, others on hydroids and some eat other sea slugs or their eggs. Nudis are also known to be cannibals and prey on members of their own species. Nudibranchs that feed on hydrozoids can store the hydrozoids’ (stinging cells) in the body. These stolen nematocyst remain, throughout the body without harming the nudibranch. Providing them with a layer of protection. Having all these bright and beautiful colours lets other predators know they are not to be eaten and can be toxic. ![Nudi | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_3849-2-scaled.jpg) We love finding them, not only to observe, but for[ photography](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-photo-safari/) to make a great subject. Not to mention a beautiful colourful photo. As I mentioned before these weird and wonderful critters can be found on nearly all our[ Snorkel Venture tours](https://snorkelventure.com/2024-tours/). With the house reefs in [Alor](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-komodo-raja-ampat-safari/), [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/), [Komodo](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-komodo-safari-2/) and [Sulawesi](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-safari-2025/) being top Nudi spotting areas. Our best chances to find them are in the shallow reefs or where we go for designated “[Muck snorkeling](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/22/what-is-muck-snorkeling/)”. The trick to finding them is to go slowly across the reef or sandy patches taking your time. Though extremely colourful they are not the easiest things to find. My other top tip for finding them is to stay close to the local guides. They are by far the best at finding them. That being said it is very exciting and a great sense of achievement when you find your first. Happy hunting.![Nudi | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/IMG_3930-2-scaled.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life, On Tour **Tags:** Alami Alor Resort, Alor and Komodo, asia, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, Komodo, komodo resort, Nudibranch, raja ampat, reef, Snorkel Indonesia, Snorkel Komodo, snorkel raja ampat, snorkel safari, snorkel Sulawesi, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography --- ### [Palau Snorkel Guide](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/22/palau-snorkel-guide/) **Published:** May 22, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** [Palau](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-snorkeling-safari/) is a small island nation surrounded by shallow coral reefs in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It sits about 500 km northeast of North Sulawesi and 500 km east of the Philippines. It’s remote! This remoteness, however, works to our benefit as snorkelers because the shallow coral reefs are in fantastic condition, they are abundant, as are the fish. While reefs border the entire country of Palau, we tend to concentrate our time in the south, around the Rock Islands and even further south towards Peleliu as that’s where we have the most protection from wind and waves, not to mention that’s where the best reefs are and the marine life is most abundant.![group snorkeling tour, snorkel liveaboard map | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/PALAU-MAP-1.jpg) There are only a few flight options for arriving into Palau. Some of the most popular and recommended routes from U.S. are either through Guam via Hawaii or Japan, or via Taipei which has a direct route into Palau several times a week. If you’re looking for flights you’ll likely see some convenient-*looking* routes through the Philippines. As convenient as these itineraries look, we’d advise against them as the airports in the Philippines are notorious for delayed or canceled flights, and many of the airlines that route through the Philippines are some of the[ least reputable ones out there](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/08/04/tips-for-flying-to-asia-from-the-united-states/).![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/covemarianview.jpg) Palau is quite a small place, with one main town called Koror. There is one Airport which is about 20 minutes outside of town. The nicer ocean-view resorts are about five to ten minutes from town and border the marina. This is generally where we’ll spend our time on land as it’s where the nicer resorts and restaurants are, it’s also the hub for all of our snorkeling activities. ![group snorkeling tour, snorkel liveaboard map | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Palau-Map-2.jpg) **Snorkeling** While Palau sits just outside the Coral Triangle, it still shares the bulk of the abundance and diversity that the Coral Triangle is known for. Around the Rock Islands you can experience a whole variety of snorkeling sites, from thrilling channels, shallow atolls, sea grass beds mixed with hard corals, inner lagoons, fringing reefs and ridges, and even marine lakes. As you move south from the Rock Islands towards Peleliu there’s a noticeable change in the topography. Instead of being surrounded by the lush green limestone islands you’ll find far fewer islands and you’ll likely notice that the boat is either cruising over a very [shallow plateau or deep blue water](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/07/21/shallow-water-freediving-5-simple-ways-to-improve-your-time-underwater/). Down here you’re right on the edge of a very steep shelf where the reef goes from just beneath the surface to well beyond 1,000 meters over a very short distance. This abrupt topographic feature stimulates a change in both the types of marine creatures you’re likely to see as well as the types of reefs. Regardless of where you’re snorkeling though, all of these different sites are completely covered in a stunning array of corals. Unless of course, you’re in one of the marine lakes, in which case it’s a competently different story, which I’ll address shortly.![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1699154.jpg) The sites more exposed to the open ocean will offer you a more tropical coral reef experience with clear blue water, vast hard coral plateaus & slopes, and plenty of those colorful reef fish that we all like so much. On these outer reefs you can also expect a bit more current. Nothing significant, just a gentle push from behind as you casually float over the stunning reefs. That being said, if you are on one of the channels or ridges the current can be quite strong depending on the moon phase. We only snorkel the ridges and channels at certain times—when the current is more amenable basically—to ensure we have the most comfortable experience possible. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1699163.jpg) The inner lagoons and reefs are a very different story when compared to the outer reefs. As these areas are very well protected from the wind and currents the water is typically like glass even on the windiest days. The water is still clear, just not as clear as the outer reefs. While the coral does tend to be mostly of the hard variety, it’s very different than the outer reefs—more colorful in fact—with lots of burnt reds and oranges. Along the limestone walls near the surface you’ll find colonies of tunicates, vibrant sponges, and pretty patches of algae. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_0774.jpg) **Marine Lakes** Palau is unique in that it has a number of marine lakes around the Rock Islands, some of which we can access either by a short hike in the case of the Jellyfish Lake, or via a shallow swim-through we can pass through at lower tides. The water in the marine lakes is brackish so you can expect a completely different ecosystem when compared to any of the other types of reefs around Palau. Each marine lake will have its own ecosystem depending on how much access it has to the sea. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1688163.jpg) For example, the marine lake we visit that has a decent-sized swim-through—while still very different—will have more in common with your inner lagoons as the passage allows for some water movement in and out of the marine lake, bringing in corals and different fish species. A marine lake that’s completely cut off from the ocean—aside from the infusion of saltwater through the porous limestone—offers us a very different experience as the species of coral and fish that live in these types of lakes will be more or less unique to these that particular marine lake. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_0688.jpg) Jellyfish Lake is a perfect example of what I’m talking about. In this magical lake, you’ll see some fish, but mostly strange little blennies, gobies, and some cardinal fish. You’ll also notice that there is very little coral and that the sides of the lake are covered in beautiful algae, sponges, and many little white anemones. These anemones are actually the predators of the jellyfish that live in the lake! Of course, you’ll also notice—depending on the stage of the bloom, anywhere from a few dozen to several million STINGLESS golden jellyfish! [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1688709-720x480.jpg) P1688709 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1688709.jpg "P1688709") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1688679-720x480.jpg) P1688679 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1688679.jpg "P1688679") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1688722-720x480.jpg) P1688722 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1688722.jpg "P1688722") **Marine Life** The abundance of marine life in Palau is quite astonishing, even when compared to places in Indonesia. The marine life you are likely to encounter will very much depend on what type of site you are on. For example, in the area where there’s a mixture of reef and seagrass, you’re likely to encounter a number of different types of nudibranchs, cowries, and juvenile reef fish like sweetlips and angel fish. Maybe even a turtle or two. If you are super lucky you might get a passing dugong! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1688437.jpg) On the sloping reefs, you can expect Napoleon wrasses, bumphead parrot fish, schools of fusileers, the occasional turtle, as well as all your staple tropical reef fish like sweet lips, snappers, anemone fish, and a bunch of different types of butterfly fish. The same goes for your channels, ridges, and open ocean plateaus, only out here you’re more likely to encounter some of the bigger creatures like reef sharks, large schools of pyramid butterfly fish, more turtles, more napoleons, more big parrot fish, groupers, and if you’re lucky one or several mantas feeding or cleaning. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1699149.jpg) With regards the the inner reefs and the marine lakes that have an opening to the sea, you’ll notice that there won’t be that cacophony of fish dancing on the reef or in the blue. There tend to be fewer fish, and they tend to be smaller, but no less cool or interesting! Pajama cardinalfish, nudibranchs, pipefish, a whole host of juvenile reef fish, strange blennies, and even Mandarin fish can all be found residing in the protected waters of the inner lagoons and marine lakes. ![mandarin fish | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_5795.jpg) **Likely Marine Life Encounters** [ ![mandarin fish | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_5795-720x480.jpg) Mandarin Fish ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_5795.jpg "IMG_5795") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1688602-720x480.jpg) Golden Jellyfish ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1688602.jpg "P1688602") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_1714-720x480.jpg) Jack Fish ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_1714.jpg "IMG_1714") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/P1555182-scaled-720x480.jpg) Hawksbill Seaturtles ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/P1555182-scaled.jpg "P1555182") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/P1555267-scaled-720x480.jpg) Moray Eels ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/P1555267-scaled.jpg "P1555267") [ ![snorkeler and green turtle in blue water | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/P1055445-720x480.jpg) Green Seaturtles ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/P1055445.jpg "P1055445") [ ![caribean reef squid taken with TG-6 camera | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P3160154-001-720x480.jpg) Reef Squid ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P3160154-001.jpg "P3160154-001") [ ![large peacock flounder on seagrass | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P1004584-copy-720x480.jpg) Peacock Founder ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P1004584-copy.jpg "P1004584 copy") [ ![Banded sea snake | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_8645-copy-720x480.jpg) Banded sea snake ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_8645-copy.jpg "IMG_8645 copy") [ ![Large Napoleon wrasse | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_8138-copy-720x480.jpg) Napoleon wrasse ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_8138-copy.jpg "IMG_8138 copy") [ ![Spotted eagle ray swimming in blue water | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_8551-copy-720x480.jpg) Spotted Eagle ray ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_8551-copy.jpg "IMG_8551 copy") [ ![Schooling fusileers | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_1143-copy-720x480.jpg) Fusileers ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_1143-copy.jpg "IMG_1143 copy") **Surprise Marine Life Encounters** [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/P1555666-scaled-720x480.jpg) Dugong ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/P1555666-scaled.jpg "P1555666") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/P1144438-720x480.jpg) Whaleshark ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/P1144438.jpg "P1144438") [ ![Reef octopus | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4576-copy-720x480.jpg) Octopus ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/IMG_4576-copy.jpg "IMG_4576 copy") [ ![manta rays feeding on the surface | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IMG_6968-720x480.jpg) Reef Mantas ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/IMG_6968.jpg "IMG_6968") **Palau Snorkeling Season** Palau can be snorkeled year-round, but the best time for us to snorkel is during the dryer season from October to May. Water temps around this time of year will generally be around 81-86°F (27-30°C). Very little changes with the marine life from an annual perspective and everything from mantas, sharks, and turtles, to all the beautiful reef fish, can be more or less expected (expected does not mean guaranteed in nature) on a typical Palau snorkeling safari. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_0728.jpg) **Snorkeling Holiday Examples** At the moment we are running only one [Palau snorkeling safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-snorkeling-safari/) each year. The first five days of this safari are resort-based where we stay in one of the nice big hotels right down by the marina. We depart each morning around 8:30 by a large private snorkel boat for our first morning snorkel, followed by lunch on a beautiful beach or in a tranquil lagoon, after which we’ll enjoy our second snorkel of the day before heading back to the resort. We tend to arrive back at the resort around three in the afternoon. After a bit of down time we meet for dinner at one of the fantastic seaside restaurants nearby. The last week of the trip is spent on an[ outstanding liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/15/first-impressions-of-palau/) which we’ve chartered exclusively for us snorkelers. Each morning after breakfast we’ll head out on the liveaboard’s large speedboat and partake in two morning snorkels at different sites. The time in between the morning snorkels is spent on the spacious speedboat with freshly baked snacks, fruits, and hot or cold drinks. After the second snorkel, we’ll head back to the main boat for lunch, a little siesta, and then back in again for the afternoon snorkel. On some days we may do one morning snorkel, one afternoon snorkel, followed by a night snorkel. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1699195.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations, Snorkeling Guides **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, komodo resort, Palau, reef, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, Snorkeling Cameras, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, women snorkeling --- ### [Komodo's Top 5 Snorkeling Sites](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/04/29/komodos-top-5-snorkeling-sites/) **Published:** April 29, 2019 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Komodo is famous for a lot of things—most notably it’s giant carnivorous lizards—which rule the uninhabited islands. As tourism started to grow in Indonesia people quickly learned that the Komodo Dragons were not the only thing unique to the area—and that it in fact had some of the most biodiverse marine life in the world. Diving and snorkeling became even more popular than the large terrestrial reptiles and now people are coming from all over the world to witness Komodo’ underwater splendor. After spending years diving and snorkeling Komodo, we’ve put together a quick list of what we believe to be Komodo’s best snorkeling sites. \#5 Turtle City![Two green sea turtles with black background | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1600700.jpg) As you may have guessed, the site known as Turtle City is riddled with sea-turtles. The shallow protected hard coral reef has become a natural sanctuary for the large green sea-turtles and as snorkelers we can casually float above them as they go about their naps and enjoy the many cleaning stations where small cleaner fish peck off any parasites and algae from their shells. ### \#4 Batu Bolong![colorful reef and reef fish | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/P1522220-copy.jpg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/P1411287-copy.jpg) Batu Bolong is a small rock island in the middle of Komodo National Park where all sort of marine life congregate. It hosts one of the most immaculate and diverse reefs in the park and come just a few centimeters from the surface. Living within the reef is a massive colony of orange anthias who explode from the reef in a brilliant flurry. Larger marine life like tunas, giant trevallies, and the occasional pod of dolphin are all things that can be seen on this magical site. ### \#3 Tatawa Besar![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Komodo-Reef-Snorkeling.jpg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/P1511423-copy.jpg) If you like drifting over reef and just watching everything go by—you’ll love Tatawa Besar. This elongated island is the perfect drift for snorkelers as it’s fringed by another bustling shallow reef home to all sorts of fish like sweet lips, crocodile fish and cuttle fish while mantas and eagle rays are not uncommon encounters either. ### \#2 Manta Point![many mantas feeding on the surface | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/DJI_0584.jpg) Manta point is probably one of the most famous sites in Komodo thanks to it’s resident fleet of mantas who use the dozens of cleaning stations on a daily basis. In the mornings when the water is flat, and with a decent current, (don’t worry you just drift with it) the mantas come to the surface to feed on the plankton which is trapped in the [shallow water](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/07/21/shallow-water-freediving-5-simple-ways-to-improve-your-time-underwater/) all around the drifting snorkelers. ### \#1 China Shop![hard coral reef with manta swimming through blue water | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/P1455675-copy.jpg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/P1455645-copy.jpg)China shop is sort of a hidden secret, but in our opinion one of the best spots for snorkelers. The shallow reef is in pristine conditions and extends for hundreds of meters in either direction, and it can offer everything Komodo is famous for in one snorkel session. Mantas frequently feed in the channel at the edge of the site while many turtles live in it’s outstanding reef along with any other reef creature you could wish for. Oh, it also happens to be the same site where one lucky diver had one of the most unusual underwater encounters in recent history when a mega-mouth shark swam right over their head a few years back! ## VIDEO: See how amazing these sites are in this short video.  **Categories:** Destinations **Tags:** asia, bali, Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, Komodo, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel raja ampat, snorkel safari, Snorkel Tonga, snorkeling, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling komodo, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation --- ### [The Best Underwater Camera for Snorkeling](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/02/12/the-best-underwater-camera-for-snorkeling/) **Published:** February 12, 2019 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** With so many many compact cameras on the market, all of which seem to do everything from 4K video to doing your laundry, it can be a daunting task in picking the right one for your upcoming snorkel trip. You can check any of the popular forums and websites that break down the different cameras, but all the reviews are based on how a camera operates on land, and what we need are the relevant details regarding how the cameras do underwater. So, in order to make things a little easier on you I’ve put together a little list of the best cameras that are ideal for this very purpose. The Olympus TG-5 is a real powerhouse of a camera, despite being able to fit in your pocket. After seeing it in action on multiple occasions, it’s not wonder it’s one of the top waterproof cameras of the year. That’s right, I said waterproof. You can literally take this camera out of the box and jump straight into the ocean with this bad-boy. If you were to purchase the housing Olympus makes for the camera, which will allow you to take it to forty-five meters should you decide to go for a dive—or you just happen to be an exceptional free-diver—you have the added assurance of knowing the housing will defiantly keep the water out. You would really have to try hard to flood this camera. ![olympus tg5 on beach | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/19774-ts.jpg) Aside from being waterproof, the TG-5 also offers some really impressive functions that are extremely beneficial to snorkelers. Arguably the most important when it comes to bringing out the natural colors of the reef, is that it has a built in underwater white balance mode, along with two additional custom white balance modes. Now, some of you may be wondering what this all means. As we all know, even in the [shallow water](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/07/21/shallow-water-freediving-5-simple-ways-to-improve-your-time-underwater/) we start to lose the natural colors of the reef, the first being the reds. So, to overcome this we need to adjust the white balance accordingly, the easiest way being to switch into underwater mode it comes with. This will basically create a digital red filter and will instantaneously bring the brilliant colors of the shallow reef out, no flash needed! ![Manta ray belly | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/P1388056-copy.jpg)**No White Balance**![Manta Ray Belly | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/P1388056-2-copy.jpg)**With White Balance**Some of the other benefits of the TG-5 include RAW photo capabilities so you can play around with your photos in your post-production software just like the pros. It also has a remarkable ability to shoot in low light with minimal loss in the overall quality of the image. Along with that it offers what seems like an infinite amount of aftermarket products like strobes, video light, and different wet-lenses so you wont’ need to upgrade cameras as your skills start to improve. **Categories:** Equipment, Photography **Tags:** snorkeling, snorkeling holidays, snorkeling komodo, snorkeling tips, snorkeling trip, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Creature Feature: What are those Sea Stars Doing?](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/08/20/creature-feature-what-are-those-sea-stars-doing/) **Published:** August 20, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Up until a couple of years ago, I was under the impression that the only behavior that sea stars visibly exhibited was the one where they just stick themselves to the reef, like a gecko on glass. In all my time spent snorkeling and diving all over the world, this is all I’d ever seen them do. Then, I saw this amazing photo of a sea star arched up on all five of its legs, with what looked like white smoke being released from its body. It was a completely new way to see a sea star, extremely photogenic, and interesting; I hoped I’d be able to observe this behavior at some point. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/2da3638a-2217-4221-bc7a-54ca6776388b.jpg)This is a male Leiaster leachi sea star broadcasting sperm into murky water in a shallow bay. Other nearby sea stars were broadcasting sperm and eggs into the water in synchrony, though the they were not within visual distance of one another. Over the course of an hour or more, the sea star swayed and twirled as it released streams of sperm—a five-limbed dancer gyrating to a silent, timeless rhythm of life. This individual was between 40cm and 45cm in diameter. Photographed in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. Photo and description by [Tony Wu for the Wildlife Photographer of the Year Awards](https://www.nhm.ac.uk/wpy/gallery/2022-shooting-star).I didn’t have to wait long; I think it was on my very next trip in Indonesia where the group and I saw not only one, but at least a dozen sea stars in a small area, all exhibiting this unique behavior! And then a few trips later, we experienced the exact same thing, dozens of sea stars all arched up like this, releasing this ‘smoke’! Now, we’re seeing this behavior more and more, every third trip or so, because we now know what to look for and when to look for it. Here’s how you can start to spot this, also! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1013350.jpg) Like a lot of marine life species, sea stars tend to time all their reproductive business when the tides are at their strongest, which is generally full or new moon. This was exactly when I would encounter all these sea stars standing up, allowing the stronger water movement to carry their gametes further abroad. I’ve since learned that the male and female stars often synchronize their spawning events, and quite often cluster together during this time. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1013361.jpg) As the female blue sea stars release their eggs, which are usually a bright yellow or orange color, males will simultaneously release a cloud of white sperm into the water. This phenomenon often occurs in [shallow waters,](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/07/21/shallow-water-freediving-5-simple-ways-to-improve-your-time-underwater/) which is ideal for us snorkelers. The spawning event may last for a short period, in my experience, about five to ten minutes, and once the gametes are released, the fertilized eggs will drift away, and the sea stars will go back to their regular sea star positions on the reef. **Categories:** Marine Life, On Tour **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, Komodo, raja ampat, reef, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling komodo, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography --- ### [On Tour Dining - Coralia Liveaboard's Ayam Bakar Taliwang](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/20/coralias-ayam-bakar-taliwang/) **Published:** August 20, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** The Coralia Liveaboard is well known for many things: its spacious cabins, romantic wooden finish, stellar crew, and convenient and uber-comfortable design. At least, that’s something we talk about a lot whenever we talk about Coralia. One thing we haven’t really highlighted too much, at least in any great detail, is its food! The chefs on the Coralia have cultivated an extensive menu that beautifully combines a variety of Western flavors along with Indonesian favorites. With enough notice, they can accommodate just about any dietary preferences or requirements while still delivering the rich flavors you crave. ![Sunset over calm waters viewed from a sailboat deck with dining tables set for dinner and string lights overhead. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P1031119.jpg) Here’s one of our guests’ favorites from past tours aboard the Coralia. **Ayam Bakar Taliwang (‘Taliwang Style’ – Spicy Grilled Chicken)** A flavor-packed Indonesian favorite from the Coralia galley, tender chicken simmered in a fragrant spice blend, then finished over the grill for a smoky, caramelized char. ![White bowl filled with golden, crispy fried bites stacked on a wooden railing beside blue ocean water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ayam-Taliwang-copy.jpg) **Ingredients - 200 g garlic, roughly chopped - 300 g shallots, roughly chopped - 1 inch fresh turmeric, or 1 tbsp turmeric powder - 2 inches fresh ginger, or 2 tbsp ginger powder - 2 inches fresh galangal, optional - 3 stalks lemongrass - 3 bay leaves - 3 kaffir lime leaves - 200 ml coconut cream - 1 chicken, chopped into pieces - Neutral oil for sautéing - ~100 ml Water ![Assorted fresh aromatics for cooking: shallots, ginger, galangal, lemongrass, garlic, and kaffir lime leaves. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Ingredients.jpg) **Method 1. Sauté the garlic, shallots, turmeric, ginger, and galangal in a little neutral oil until golden and fragrant. 2. Transfer to a blender, add 100 ml water, and blend until smooth. 3. Return the spice paste to the stove. Add the lemongrass, bay leaves, and kaffir lime leaves. 4. Add the chicken and enough water to just barely cover it. Bring to a boil. 5. Once boiling, stir in the coconut cream and simmer for 1 minute, then remove from the heat. 6. Remove the chicken and finish it on a hot grill pan, or even better, over a barbecue, until cooked through and beautifully charred. 7. Meanwhile, return the remaining sauce to the stove and cook it down until thick and rich. 8. Spoon the reduced sauce generously over the grilled chicken before serving. **Chef’s tip:** Don’t throw away that sauce! Cooking it down concentrates all the aromatic flavors and creates the perfect finishing sauce for the smoky grilled chicken. **Categories:** Destinations, On Tour **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, coralia, dietary, food, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, liveaboard, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Snorkel Venture Podcast - Episode 3 - Lydia Vavoula](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/18/snorkel-venture-podcast-episode-3-lydia-vavoulas/) **Published:** August 18, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** We caught up with our resident Marine Biologist, Lydia Vavoulas, for a chat about her recent tour through the Banda Sea aboard the Mermaid II Liveaboard, and then we dove deep into corals, where she gave us an in-depth look at the coral reef ecology. She then gave us insight into our new Snorkel for Good Campaign, with some exciting new conservation initiatives that Snorkel Venture is helping to sponsor. We wrap it up with her thoughts on her brand-new Olympus TG-7 camera! **Categories:** Podcasts **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling tips, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Snorkel Venture Podcast - Episode 2 - Bernita Lewin](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/07/18/snorkel-venture-podcast-episode-2-bernita-lewin/) **Published:** July 18, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** Between snorkeling with orca whales and mobula rays, Snorkel Venture’s Operations Manager, Bernita Lewin, joins host Alex Lindbloom in [Mexico’s](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/mexico-sardine-run/) Baja Peninsula for a chat about the current trip they’re on, while also diving deep into the best snorkeling gear for different destinations, and how to choose the most suitable snorkleing trip for you! The pair also gets talking about their favorite trips around the world, with a surprise call-in from Big Boss Ben! They then discuss the correct pronunciation of the word Equator. **Categories:** Podcasts **Tags:** Alami Alor, Alor and Komodo, Best places to snorkel, best snorkel gear, coral reef, indonesia snorkeling, Snorkel with whales, Snorkeling Mexico, snorkeling tips --- ### [Snorkel Venture Podcast - Episode 1 - Marcus Blake](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/04/19/snorkel-venture-podcast-episode-1-marcus-blake/) **Published:** April 19, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** We’ll be kicking off our first episode of the Snorkel Venture Podcast with snorkeling legend, Marcus Blake. Snorkel Venture Podcast Host, Alex Lindbloom, chats with Marcus about all things snorkeling related, from his recent trip through Raja Ampat, Indonesia, the new issue of the [Snorkel Venture Magazine](https://heyzine.com/flip-book/825d05db2c.html), his experience swimming with whale sharks in [Triton Bay](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/), and much more. There’s even an impromptu call-in from one of the other Snorkel Venture guides who relives one of his most profound Marcus moments while on tour. **Categories:** Podcasts **Tags:** Alami Alor Resort, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkeling tips, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Split Shots, How to Shoot Them Without Breaking the Bank or Your Luggage Allowance.](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/01/split-shots-how-to-shoot-them-without-breaking-the-bank-or-your-luggage-allowance/) **Published:** September 1, 2026 **Author:** Paul Duxfield **Content:** ### **What Is A Split Shot? Also Known As A Half-half Or An Over-under Shot?** Well, in the world of underwater photography, technically they’re a way to show the above world and the immediate underwater, all at once, and they’re a really fun way to let the viewer know what it is we do, all captured in the one image. A picture where the topside of the picture and the land or seascape is visible, but the bottom half of the view is the underwater reef scene. As travellers with Snorkel Venture, we’re very lucky to visit some of the most beautiful tropical paradises in the world. And I’ve always been fond of taking shots that show the viewer exactly what it is we do and where, so what better way than a split shot? It’s like two for the price of one click of the shutter. And the great news is that they’re easier and much less expensive to achieve than you may think. ![Aerial view of turquoise water along a sandy shore with a dense coral reef and jungle backdrop. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/SplitArticleReef-2-1024x896.jpg) **The Necessary Kit And Equipment.** Being an underwater photographer, also teaching underwater photography workshops alongside my job as a Snorkel Venture guide, has meant that I have amassed a lot of expensive underwater photo kit over the years. My bigger camera, lenses, housing, and strobes come to more than $15-20K, and it allows me to do some extraordinary things with it, but aside from the price, it’s huge and costly to travel with. So it was a revelation that when I started doing more of the Snorkel Venture trips, I could leave it all at home and instead use exactly what the majority of our SV clients use, and that was, in the main either GoPros or similar or the seemingly ubiquitous Olympus Tough range, currently the [Olympus TG7](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/04/06/unboxing-the-olympus-tg-7-camera-and-housing-setup-maintenance-and-settings/). Admittedly, I was a bit skeptical at first, and being a photo nerd, I felt that ‘could these tiny marvels that fit into my carry-on luggage really do a decent enough job, especially for publication ?’ Well, I was pleasantly surprised. Having used [GoPros and TG cameras](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/09/04/gopro-vs-olympus-tg-cameras/) for a good few years now alongside my bigger rigs, that they definitely punch well above their weight, and I’m actually finding that in many scenarios, because of their less cumbersome size, they allow me to get shots otherwise impossible on larger equipment, but that’s a story for another day. Split shots are by their very nature wide-angle pictures, so a camera that fits that bill perfectly in taking these sorts of images is an action camera like a GoPro. By default, these cameras usually have a baseline wide angle of around 150 degrees, much wider than the baseline on a TG or similar camera. Action cameras of most of the major brands have been around a while now, so there’s also an ecosystem of third-party accessories that allow you to extend what is possible with this tiny tech. And to do a split shot, a non-negotiable, is that the camera you’re using needs to be placed behind an acrylic dome of some description. Typically around 6 to 8” in diameter. This is because to ensure correct placement of the boundary between the air and the water below necessitates some way of more easily positioning that boundary. And as you could imagine in a wavy environment like the open ocean, even on the flattest and calmest of days, lining up that boundary layer would be intensely frustrating just trying to do it with the action camera lens on its own, being typically less than an inch across!! Luckily, the action camera accessory ecosystem is well served, and a quick search online will result in a bunch of dome choices, typically ranging from $50 to $100. Handily, they all incorporate a built-in underwater housing too; you just need to make sure you get the correct one for the model action camera you intend to use. ![Split-view image: blue sky with an island and clouds above water, and a snorkeler above a coral reef below the surface. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/NSRATripReport-1-1024x790.jpg) ![Split-view underwater photo: coral reef beneath and cloudy sky with a distant green island above, with a rope passing through the water surface to the reef. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/SplitArticleSnake-2-1024x729.jpg) All of the shots I’m sharing in this article have been taken with either the GoPro 9 or 10, so you don’t even need the latest model to do this, and you could probably pick one of them up for less than $200. The dome I use goes under the brand name of Shoot, although I’ve seen the same one with different names on it. I’ve settled upon this one after trying others, as it’s seemingly the most robust. It has a dual handle design, comes with a handy line on the back to line up the water level, and the cover slips easily over my arm when I’m using it. I mention the cover’s practicality, as I’ve lost far too many other neoprene covers over the years, and as it slips easily over my arm, it’s almost impossible to lose that way. The cover is also useful as an 8” acrylic dome is very vulnerable to scratches, and it doesn’t take too many scratches to render it unusable over time. As even if the whole lot is only $50 online, I prefer not to be too wasteful. To get things in perspective, a dome port for my bigger camera is over $500, and then there’s all the rest of the kit that goes along with it too. Is it better quality? Yes, but not to the tune of 10x better quality, and the results from this less expensive setup speak for themselves. **Ok, We’ve Got The Kit. How Best To Use It?** I wish it were as simple as saying you’ve spent your $250 now to just get in the water and fire away, and you’re guaranteed great results immediately. But like the best things in life, you’re going to have to work a little bit for them, but it’s definitely worth the effort. On the Snorkel Venture trips, oftentimes folk see me using the domed GoPro setup, and it piques their interest, and I’m only too happy to lend it out for them to have a go, but first I give them a little mini workshop as to improve their chances of success.As the GoPro is an action camera, it has a small LCD screen, almost too small to really frame up accurately with a dome, so to increase your chances of success, I always suggest putting the GoPro into both RAW mode and Burst mode. Why? Burst mode is a setting that most action cameras have that will shoot a bunch of pictures in very quick succession, allowing you to pick the best afterwards. I set Burst at 10/1s, which is ten (RAW) pictures in the moment you press the trigger. I set RAW as my picture quality setting by default on the GoPro, as it’s the highest possible quality available, and the most pictures it’s able to shoot in RAW is ten at a time, before the camera needs a little breather of around 10 secs to catch its breath, so to speak, or buffering if you prefer the technical term. ![Split-view image: white boat on the surface with a vivid blue sky above and coral reef visible underwater at the shorelines beneath the waterline, showing snorkeling scene | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/NSRATripReport-2-1024x768.jpg) **Why Shoot RAW?** Ok, I understand that a lot of folk would rather not shoot RAW on their cameras as it means that you ARE definitely going to have to edit or post-process the pictures afterwards in your editing software of choice. I use Adobe Lightroom but there’s a great free alternative available for Windows or Mac called Darktable. Unfortunately, there is no such thing as a free lunch, and split shots by their very nature really stretch what is termed as dynamic range in photography. Not only do you have to put in a little work at the picture-taking stage, more of that to follow, but you definitely have to process these shots more carefully than you would your regular pictures if you want to see them at their best. Yet another reason why RAW shooting is the best way.It takes me on average about two or three minutes to edit a RAW split-shot picture, so it’s not too massive a headache once you’ve got a successful workflow learnt. And surely worth the effort for a potentially frame-worthy shot? **The Best Way To pick Your Shots And Then To Shoot Them** We established that the GoPro screen is tiny, and I don’t think that you’re going to be peering at it from an inch or so away desperately trying to frame things precisely with the waves buffeting you, and water coming down your snorkel, that will soon put you off the whole endeavour, I don’t. Try and make your first time doing this in as calm conditions as is practical. Find somewhere that you’ve got great, attractive, colourful reef that is really close, if not touching the surface, and as close to land or a visible topside feature as possible. Luckily, on one of our trips, this happens a lot I’ve found, and it won’t be long until the circumstances favor you. ![Split-view scene: snorkeler in black wetsuit with blue fins underwater over a coral reef, above-water shows blue sky and scattered clouds. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/SplitArticleDiver2-0557989-768x1024.jpg) This next bit is really important. Pick the first or last snorkel of the day when the sun is lower is best, and make sure the sun is behind you. This means that the light falling on both the reef and the background is most even, and that your action camera’s tiny automatic sensor has a chance to record the dynamic range (there’s that term again) in its entirety. The dynamic range is the difference between the lightest and darkest part of the scene, and traditionally, although they are getting better, cameras with tiny sensors like [GoPro’s, TG series](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/09/04/gopro-vs-olympus-tg-cameras/), and phones tend to struggle in scenes with a high dynamic range, especially like a split shot. Did I mention that shooting RAW helps enormously in this regard? You can shoot when the sun is higher, but really try to avoid shooting towards the sun for these shots, as the camera will do its best, but there’s only so much leeway you have in the edit. Thinking and planning these shots will pay dividends in your end results. **Final Thoughts** Thinking and planning ahead ? You might want to be more spontaneous than this and react in the moment when the situation best presents itself, yes? This is why I carry both my domed GoPro on my snorkels alongside my regular [TG7 setup. ](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/04/06/unboxing-the-olympus-tg-7-camera-and-housing-setup-maintenance-and-settings/)Isn’t that cumbersome and just gets in the way, I hear you say? I wear a pair of pocketed scuba shorts available from most outdoor stores, and my domed GoPro rig fits neatly inside one of the pockets, secured by a carabiner as it’s quite floaty, and my TG swaps places with it if I’m shooting split shots. I even carry a second GoPro that I use for other tasks in the other pocket, and even with all three cameras I’m still way less encumbered than I am with my big Mirrorless underwater rig with two strobes, etc, but you might think that even this was too much, and so in the past without the shorts I’ve simply stuffed the domed split shot GoPro inside my rash vest so as to concentrate on my TG rig. ![Boat with four people on deck under a tan canopy, sailing over clear blue water near a coral reef. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/SplitArticleBoat-0210937-1024x740.jpg) **The TG-shaped Dugong in the room: “What about shooting split shots using the camera I already have ? My [Olympus TG6/7](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/04/06/unboxing-the-olympus-tg-7-camera-and-housing-setup-maintenance-and-settings/).”** Well, it’s entirely possible and I’ve done split shots with a TG7, but to do it properly utilising a domed fisheye lens, you’ll need to buy some very particular kit, which will cost a lot more than $250 for the system I’ve been talking about. That kit you’ll need is an Ikelite Housing, currently the only brand to make a dome to accommodate the Olympus Fisheye lens, and in the UK this is already approx $700 without the camera and fisheye lens factored in. I’m lucky in that I own this as well, but to be honest I’d rather keep the GoPro and dome for my split shots and other wide-angle photos and video and the Olympus TG7 for macro and close-ups, as if I put the TG in the Ikelite housing with the dome attached it’s no longer useful for anything other than wide-angle shots, so it’s much more practical in my opinion to use both separate cameras in all honesty. When shooting split shots, try not to think too much about the framing and getting things precisely right, there’s a bit of random chance and luck involved. A good place to practice the technique before you start in earnest, is at the back or side of the boat either tender or liveaboard . You may not have a great reef just under the surface, but the water should be calm, and you’ll get the hang of the framing more easily there. And it can make for a fun shot. And as they say, practice makes you lucky. Enjoy. p.s.please don’t hesitate to get in touch and ask more specific questions about this. If we’ve been on a trip together before, you’ll no doubt have my WhatsApp details, or maybe contact me on Facebook Messenger if we’re in touch there. If not, just drop me a line via Snorkel Venture. **Categories:** Equipment, Photography, Tips & Advice **Tags:** coral reef, GoPro, Olympus TG, photography, reef, snorkel, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography --- ### [Citizen Science - Lets Get Involved  ](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/25/citizen-science-lets-get-involved/) **Published:** August 25, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** The word data doesn’t exactly spark excitement for most people. But, mention a database packed with raw data, ready for analysis, to a scientist and watch as their eyes light up. To them data isn’t just numbers, it is a story waiting to be told. The issue is that data is often time consuming and expensive to obtain. Here is where the genius of citizen science comes into play. **What is citizen science?** Citizen science gives you the opportunity to help gather, analyze or report invaluable scientific information. If you are part of the Snorkel Venture community odds are you are a big fan of spending time out in nature. Many of our guests are often extremely well travelled and are lucky enough to have spent time with some of the rarest of species, in remote environments. For a research team to fund and organize a trip to such places, to study such species often takes years of fund raising and planning. Citizen science allows us to skip this step. Handing over data from you, the public, straight to the people that need it most. ![Group of people using laptops at night, one screen shows a map (coastline visible). | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/scientists-1024x768.jpg) **[Manta Trust](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/manta-trust/)** A magnificent example of citizen science in action is a method used by one of [Snorkel Venture’s charity partners](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/), Manta Trust. Manta Trust is a charity that researches, advocates for and protects manta and devil rays world wide. Manta and devil rays (known as Mobulid rays) are widely dispersed and species like the oceanic manta are known to travel hundreds of miles across open ocean. Therefore obtaining information regarding the movement patterns of these rays can be tricky. This is where we need your help. If you have ever been lucky enough to spend time with Mobulids in the wild you may have noticed their spotty underbellies as they barrel roll through the water. This spot pattern is a unique identifier for each individual ray, just like a human fingerprint, and can be used to recognize that exact ray throughout its lifetime. ![Manta ray gliding underwater, viewed from below in clear blue water with its wide fins spread. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/manta-belly-shot.png) Next time you find yourself in the water with a ray and this article comes to mind, if your photo skills are up to it, try snapping a shot of the rays ventral surface (underside). The most crucial area for a usable identification photo is the belly, which includes the ray’s spot pattern. Additionally, capturing the area toward the tail is helpful for determining the ray’s sex. Scars are also valuable indicators for individual ID. Once you return home from your holiday and flick through your images you can pop onto the [Mantabase ](https://www.mantatrust.org/mantabase)site, where you can upload your photograph. If you are the very first to have ever uploaded a photo of that ray you even get the honor of naming him or her. There are now more than 100,000 uploads to Mantabase and through this initiative Manta Trust has used your data to create marine protected areas, publish research and influence policy that protects these vulnerable species. [**Ocean Eye** ](https://oceaneye.io) Imagine you are on tour with Snorkel Venture and you have a life changing encounter with a whale shark. You know that whale sharks face threats in the area, and you would like to donate towards their protection. Ocean Eye is a simple platform whereby tourists can log their sightings while on tour alongside making micro donations for each sighting. These donations go directly to local conservation projects. By logging your encounter, your snorkeling experience just became truly life changing! Over time the money raised through marine animal sightings accumulates and shows locals that a live animal has much greater value than one lying dead in a fish market. Ocean eye supports projects that work with communities to create financial opportunities, alternative livelihoods and incentives, giving power, knowledge and a path to action back to the local people. They create projects that are not just short term fixes but systemic long term solutions. Additionally, the data gathered through the platform is extremely valuable, as it is used by scientists and local authority to improve marine management. ![Person in beige shawl and maroon clothing stands next to a large pile of garbage amid dense green vegetation, with organization logos in the top corners. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Plastic-Waste-Emergency-at-the-Banda-Islands-Ocean-Eye-Funds-Community-Action-1024x603.png) ![Two young men stand on a small loaded boat with white sacks, on calm water with a forested island in the background. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Waste-Bank-Activity-in-Banda-1024x603.png) Waste management is a big issue on remote islands and can be fatal for marine life. Tourist donations for wildlife sightings have funded a plastic pick up system in remote [Banda island](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/07/23/banda-sea-snorkel-guide/) villages. Ensuring less waste enters the ocean, protecting wildlife from entanglement and ingesting marine debris. [**Coral Watch**](https://coralwatch.org) It is no secret that coral reefs worldwide are suffering in the face of rising ocean temperatures and ocean acidification. As snorkelers however, we know, there is still plenty of bustling, healthy reef out there for us to advocate for. Luckily, there is currently an army of coral fans (pun intended) conjuring up innovative solutions that help give coral a fighting chance. Coral reefs can be massive. Australia’s Great Barrier Reef is approximately the size of Japan. This poses a problem to scientists trying to grasp an understanding of current coral health over such vast areas. There are not enough coral scientists in the world to survey such large areas, however there are enough snorkelers! We as snorkelers have access to remote parts of the reef and thousands of tourists snorkel coral reefs every day. So how can you help make a difference? Train yourself to conduct coral surveys. I know it sounds intimidating but I promise it’s simple. Coral watch is a citizen science program that provides snorkelers with an easy to do coral survey, anywhere in the world. The survey is simple and doesn’t take long. You can start your snorkel with a survey and still have plenty of time left to float about. So, before you hop in for your next snorkel, visit the Coral Watch website for instructions on how to gather and enter your data and to register for your free Coral Health Chart to take along on all your snorkeling ventures. ![Underwater coral reef with various corals and a CoralWatch health chart held in the foreground. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Coral-watch-survey-1024x768.jpg) Corals have been around for 500 million years, yet our understanding of their resilience to heat stress is a constantly evolving field of knowledge, with new vital information surfacing every day. Each data point collected is a piece of the puzzle that helps scientists protect this vital ecosystem. Daily headlines regarding climate news can often leave us feeling a little helpless and deflated. Citizen science is a great way to be a part of the solution. These are just a few examples of citizen science in action, however, there are countless other ways we can get involved. Take the first step by researching citizen science projects in areas you plan to visit or even in your own back yard. Snorkel Venture aims to increase our citizen science output by providing purpose run tours that integrate both snorkeling and science. Kicking off with our [2027 Maldives Manta research expedition.](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/maldives-manta-research-expedition-by-liveaboard-black-manta/) **Categories:** Conservation, Marine Life, Tips & Advice **Tags:** Citizen Science, conservation, coral reef, Manta ray, Manta rays snorkeling, manta trust, snorkel for good, snorkeling --- ### [Snorkeling with Walking Sharks](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/12/22/snorkeling-with-walking-sharks/) **Published:** December 22, 2020 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** 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](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/07/16/night-snorkeling-with-snorkel-venture/). 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. ![Epaulette walking shark on the sand | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/12/0830-walking-shark-Hemiscyllium-halmahera.jpg) 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 have it folks, sharks can not only be comically cute, but also walk, and the best places to snorkel with them just happen to be Raja Ampat and Triton Bay in Indonesia! *Check out this short video to see just how these sharks walk, even on land! This particular species, which is nearly identical in appearance to the ones found in Raja Ampat and Triton bay is from Australia. The behavior is the same however.* **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life **Tags:** best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, reef, shark snorkeling, sharks, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation --- ### [2019 Season Highlights](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/08/25/2019-season-highlights/) **Published:** August 25, 2020 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** 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** ![reflection of coral reef on the surface | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/P1722158.jpg) 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** ![Mangroves viewed from underwater | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_4021.jpg) 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 it into the mangroves on several of our Komodo Snorkel Venture safaris, and the reward of doing so was well worth the long wait. ![guest snorkeling in mangroves in belize | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/DJI_0023-copy.jpg) **3. Local Communities** ![Indonesian children sitting in house | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/P1133052.jpg) 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 display their catch and handmade gear, clearly proud of their unique abilities and pleased with our interest in them. ![local spear fisherman in Alor diving down a coral wall | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/P1655785-copy.jpg) **2. Blue Water Surprises** ![two whale sharks feeding on the surface | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/DSC_5269.jpg) Our snorkel safaris typically run anywhere from a week to just over two, depending on the itinerary. In this time we spend the majority of the day on the water, either snorkeling, moving between sites on the comfortable boats, or just sipping cocktails on any one of the resort’s beaches. Regardless of the tour, when you spend that much time with your eyes focused on the liquid blue horizon you’re bound to witness some amazing surprises, outside of the typical reef inhabitants. Some of the big surprises that came out of the blue in 2019 include super pods of dolphins, blue whales, giant ocean sunfish, mantas, whale sharks, and dugongs. **1. A Manta Tornado** Mantas are pretty routine in Komodo. They are all over the park, and on certain sites you can see anywhere from a couple to several dozen in a single snorkel. However, on a snorkeling safari to Komodo in September we were all bombarded by about forty of these gentle giants as they frantically flapped and spiraled through the water in an adrenaline-fueled courtship ‘dance.’ ![Manta rays congregating in Komodo National Park | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1688407.jpg) **A Quick Video Showcasing Just Some of the 2019 Season Highlights** **Categories:** Destinations **Tags:** best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Snorkeling Komodo & Raja Ampat Video](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/03/15/snorkeling-komodo-raja-ampat-video/) **Published:** March 15, 2019 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Snorkel Venture team member Alex Lindbloom spent 5 years on a Liveaboard in Indonesia visiting some of the most remote and exciting sites on offer in the Asia-Pacific region. Check out his showreel of favourite locations, for more videos checkout our [Snorkel Venture Youtube Channel.](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR2KU7V_cDVy_P-WO2YgThg/videos) **Categories:** Destinations **Tags:** snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling komodo, snorkeling raja Ampat --- ### [Trip Report – Alor & West Komodo 2026: Unforgettable Encounters](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/11/trip-report-alor-west-komodo-2026-unforgettable-encounters/) **Published:** August 11, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** I’d like to tell you about a trip to two of the most iconic [Indonesian snorkeling destinations](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/indonesia/): Alor and Komodo. Both delivered unforgettable ocean encounters, sparkling, jaw-dropping reefs, and unmatched relaxation. As with many of our trips, we started off in Jakarta, in my home away from home, the FM7 Hotel (which I recently found out stands for “Fond Memories”!). I met my group for our welcome dinner in the hotel’s restaurant and instantly felt at ease as we all bonded over tales of snorkeling. A sense of shared excitement and anticipation for what was to come filled the room. That night/morning, we flew across the chain of islands that borders the southern end of the Indonesian archipelago and finally made it to our first resort of the two-week trip, [Alami Alor.](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) ## [**Alami Alor**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-and-west-komodo-snorkel-safari/) As we pulled into Alami Resort, we were greeted by the wonderful Alami staff, who showed us around and made us feel at home. Alami is a small resort, nestled in a remote Indonesian village. At Alami, you really feel like you have arrived somewhere special! Meandering garden paths, shaded by palm trees, lead each of us to our beautiful bungalows with stunning waterfront views. From here, it is not rare to spot baby reef sharks cruising over shallow coral and dolphins flipping in the distance before even leaving your room. ![Aerial view of a tropical beachfront villa with a rectangular pool, white umbrellas, and palm trees beside a rocky shoreline and clear blue water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DJI_20250413155009_0002_D-1024x683.jpg) That first afternoon, we wasted no time jumping into [Alami’s house reef,](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/06/02/featured-house-reef-alami-alor-indonesia/) home to moray eels, octopus, baby batfish, and thriving coral, to name a few. That evening, we all met in the lounge to watch the sunset with a cocktail in hand, feast on our first delicious dinner, and settle into what was already proving to be snorkeling bliss. Alor is definitely one of my absolute favorite places to explore. The variety of sites makes it a snorkeling playground of stunning coral and critters. Also, thanks to its renowned upwelling, cold water, currents, and protected bays, it is not short of surprise encounters with some of our larger ocean friends, such as dolphins, blue whales, and [mola mola](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/02/28/best-snorkeling-destinations-for-unique-experiences/)… but I’m getting ahead of myself. ![A white tour boat with people on deck near the horizon as a pod of dolphins swims in the blue ocean nearby. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DJI_20250526112736_0031_D-1024x683.jpg) ### **Crystal Clear Waters and Indonesian Villages** The western coastline of Alor, where Alami Alor is situated, has access to a collection of nearby volcanic islands and endless coral coastline. The textbook snorkeling experience at Alor consists of being dropped up-current on a sloping edge of coral, backdropped by a remote Indonesian fishing village. The crystal clear water lets you soak up the vastness of the busy reef. In the shallows, [damselfish](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/07/08/a-starter-guide-to-indonesian-reef-fish-id/) mesmerize snorkelers as they dance around coral heads, whilst every now and again, our incredible, sharp-eyed guides pop their heads up, letting you know there’s a rare critter to check out nearby. These gems take you by surprise, as they are often species you have never heard of, in shapes and colors you could not imagine. As you swim into deeper water, the reef slopes off into the vast blue, with coral as deep as the eye can see, covered with anemones nestled into every crevice and pyramid butterflyfish schooling over it all. ![Underwater view of a vibrant coral reef with branching corals and small fish swimming around. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P1010562-1024x682.jpg) Meanwhile, children from nearby villages jump into the water to greet us and show off snorkeling skills of their own, while weathered Indonesian fishermen row past on their canoes or dive deep to collect their traditional woven fishing traps, balanced delicately in the reef! It is an experience that will stay with you long after you exit the water. ![Snorkeler with fins gliding over a vibrant coral reef beneath clear blue water, orange debris floating on the surface above. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-11-at-14.21.54-e1786447598548-1024x583.jpeg) ![One person paddling a small wooden kayak on a calm blue sea near a rocky shoreline, under a clear sky. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-11-at-14.21.55-e1786447453417-1024x616.jpeg) ### **Mola Mola** We were fortunate enough to be in Alor during the new moon period. New and full moons mean larger tidal ranges and greater movements of water through the complex of islands, which the mola mola, otherwise known as sunfish, are known to use to hitch a ride up to the surface of the water. Any snorkeler knows that mola mola encounters are very rare, as these Frankenstein-looking fish do not tend to spend much time on the surface. So, after our morning snorkels each day, we would ride the tenders to the spots where the currents are most active and scour the surface of the water for a flip of a mola mola dorsal fin. To our delight, the guides were great at spotting the mola, and we were lucky enough to have four drops with the huge fish, with all guests getting a great look at them, along with some photographs to take home. The mola mola really are an evolutionary conundrum. As you watch them very clumsily wave their long fins, they are one of the strangest-looking animals out there! <https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/WhatsApp-Video-2026-08-11-at-14.00.11.mp4> ### **Macro Heaven** Of course, Alor is also famous for being a critter corner of the world, and our trip was no exception. A [muck snorkel](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/22/what-is-muck-snorkeling/) near a mosque was non-stop critter action, ticking off bucket-list species such as ghost pipefish, seahorses, stonefish, and sargassum frogfish. We were even treated to a snorkel over the Alami house reef at night to see the famous [mandarin fish,](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/09/02/the-truth-about-mandarinfish/) which were as cute and colorful as you would expect. ![Aerial view of a tropical beachfront villa with a rectangular pool, white umbrellas, and palm trees beside a rocky shoreline and clear blue water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P4201064-225x300.jpg) ![Close-up of a brown mottled octopus tucked among rocks and algae, with its mantle and curling arms visible and an eye peeking out. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P42011003-225x300.jpg) ![Pink encrusting sponge on a rocky seabed with a rough, porous surface and small holes near the edges. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P4201109-225x300.jpg) Alor is a must-see destination for any snorkeler! ## [**Komodo**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/komodo-and-alor-by-snorkel-liveaboard/) A week into our trip, we switched resorts and headed to a beachside slice of heaven called [Kalimaya Resort](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/), located on the eastern edge of Sumbawa Island, with access to the remote, rarely visited corners of [West Komodo](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-and-west-komodo-snorkel-safari/). Our days here consisted of delicious Indonesian cuisine, cruising through the beautiful Komodo Islands, coral that literally brought a tear to my eye, and afternoons chilling by the pool. ![Poolside at dusk with palm trees, umbrellas, and guests relaxing on lounge chairs by the water. A small boat is in the calm sea in the distance. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P4241479-1024x768.jpg) ### **Komodo Snorkeling Highlights** Days at Kalimaya Resort are varied depending on weather conditions and site selection. For far-away sites, we board two speedboats that comfortably zip us over to more distant snorkel sites. For closer sites, we jump aboard the custom-built, very spacious wooden traditional-style boat, lounge on beanbags, and soak up the Komodo Island landscape as we cruise. One of my favorite snorkel sites was on Gili Banta. That day, we took the speedboats and cruised into one of the bays. I had not visited this site before and was not sure what to expect. The second I dropped into the water, I was overwhelmed by the [beauty of the coral.](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/04/an-introduction-to-coral/) As shallow as three meters, huge, ancient boulder corals were like rolling underwater hills, one after the other. Embarrassingly, I do not exaggerate when I say the beauty of this reef made me tear up. The whole group was in awe. As we spread out over the shallow bay, exploring for a couple of hours, we all left that day with the glow of a great snorkel on our faces! ![Clear turquoise sea along a sandy shore with a rocky hillside and green bushes under a blue sky; snorkelers visible in the water close to shore. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/DJI_20260523072309_0002_D-2-1024x683.jpg) Another Komodo highlight was snorkeling over the black volcanic sand. Filled with yummy nutrients, it is home to rare critter species and makes a great backdrop for photos of the coral. At these sites, we also got to see streams of volcanic bubbles escaping from the sand, seemingly having made their way from deep below the Earth’s surface! ### [**Komodo Dragons**](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/10/08/west-side-of-komodo/) Four days into our time in Komodo, anticipation was growing for when we would visit the notorious Komodo dragons. Organized by Kalimaya Resort, the day had finally come. We made our way over to Komodo Island, parked up, and were greeted on the beach by Komodo Island rangers. Through the safety of the ranger station fence, we all got a very close-up look at these prehistoric animals. The dragons were lying about in the sun in a group of four. However, even whilst sunbathing, these are animals to be taken seriously, with their sharp claws, muscly legs, and scaly skin. They are truly dinosaurs. ![Close-up of a dark, scaly monitor lizard resting on a sandy beach with blue water in the background. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P1029609-1024x682.jpg) ## **Group Dynamics** Aside from the breathtaking snorkeling and chilled resort life, the absolute highlight of this trip was our group dynamic. Everyone’s enthusiasm made for a very fun trip! Each evening, we would share photos, talk about our favorite moments of the day, and huddle around ID books. The group were even kind enough to show some enthusiasm for my coral ID talks and games! Overall, a fantastic two weeks!! ![Large group of people on a wooden dock in front of a pavilion, waving at the camera with a tropical shoreline behind them and an Indonesian flag overhead. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/WhatsApp-Image-2026-08-11-at-14.07.30-1024x576.jpeg) **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life, On Tour, Trip Reports **Tags:** Alami Alor, Alami Alor Resort, Alor and Komodo, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, Komodo Dragons, Mola Mola, snorkel alor, snorkel coral reef, snorkeling komodo --- ### [On the Reef: Age Really Is Just a Number](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/07/31/on-the-reef-age-really-is-just-a-number/) **Published:** July 31, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** Normally, asking someone, “How old are you?” might be considered a little rude. But when it comes to the creatures of the reef, the answers are simply too intriguing not to ask. We’ve all had those moments while snorkeling when a wrinkled, barnacle-encrusted sea turtle glides gracefully past, making you think, *“*That dude has seen some things.*“.* Or perhaps you’ve drifted over a coral colony stretching for tens of meters and found yourself wondering, *“*Were you alive when the dinosaurs still roamed the Earth?*“.* Well, in this blog, we’re going to ask that nosy question “How old are you?” to some of our favorite residents of the reef. The answers might just leave us all feeling a little younger. **Giant Barrel Sponge** On tours, every now and again, I encourage our guests to swim towards deeper water and peak over the edge of the shallow plateau we are snorkeling over. One of the most prominent things you will likely see are these giant barrel sponges that can grow to be so large that you could easily fit inside one. When it comes to age, these sponges absolutely knock it out of the park… and right into outer space. Giant barrel sponges tend to grow anywhere between a few millimeters to a couple of centimeters a year. Depending on their position on the reef they will have more or less nutrient rich water flow through them which correlates with their growth rate. By taking repeated photographs of their growth over time scientist have estimated that many of these sponges are 100s of years old. And most impressively, the oldest giant barrel sponge measured to date is over 2000 years old!!! If this has you wondering how old your favorite sponge is, Dr Joseph Pawlik has made it easy for us to date sponges with his Sponge Age Calculator. Using a flexible measuring tape, measure the height, diameter of the opening of the sponge, and the circumference of the base (of course only attempt this if you are confident with your buoyancy and duck diving skills, taking care not to touch the sponge). You can pop your measurements in the Dr Pawlik’s calculator [HERE](https://people.uncw.edu/pawlikj/xmuta_calc.html) and find out how old the sponge is! ![Colorful underwater scene of large brown coral structures rising from a vibrant blue reef, with a snorkelventure logo in the top-right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/759017073_18196076479373970_4367431851132053425_n-1024x682.jpg) ![Underwater coral reef with pink ridged coral and yellow brain coral along a rocky wall; blue open water and divers in the distance. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1003082-1-1024x682.jpg) [**Whale sharks**](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/06/05/snorkeling-with-indonesias-gentle-giants/) One of the largest animals I have had the pleasure of [snorkeling alongside is the enigmatic whale shark.](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) To me, the whale shark is a bit of a paradox. I can never decide whether I see them as wise wanderers of the ocean, with their astonishing size and graceful tail swings, or as slightly goofy, oversized fish with their wide smiles, friendly eyes, and nonchalance. Wise or not, an animal of that size always leaves you wondering just how old they are. Whale sharks are, of course, the largest fish in the sea, with the largest ever recorded measuring an incredible 18 meters in length. However, despite their enormous size, surprisingly little is known about them. Most whale shark encounters happen when they swim near the surface to feed on plankton. But when it comes to other behaviors, such as mating and giving birth, whale sharks prefer a little privacy, disappearing out of sight, into the deep blue. ![Whale shark swimming underwater with a snorkeler above, showing its spotted pattern in clear blue water (snorkelventure logo top right). | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/742581198_18195321568373970_2183309687693330837_n-1024x682.jpg) ![Whale shark with white spots gliding through deep blue ocean, seen from above, logo watermark in top-right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/753287867_18195507358373970_2922021948976467535_n-1024x682.jpg) What we do know is that whale sharks definitely live for more than 50 years and most likely reach ages of between 100 and 150 years! To put that into perspective, an elderly whale shark swimming around today may have lived through both World Wars, been alive before electricity became common in homes, and even been around when we rode around in horse drawn carriages. Scientists estimate the age of whale sharks by counting growth rings in their vertebrae, much like counting the rings of a tree. Their long lifespan also makes them especially vulnerable to extinction, as they don’t reach sexual maturity until around 30 years old. These gentle giants remind us that sometimes the secret to a long life is to slow down and take it easyyyy! **Sea turtles** Sea turtles have definitely earned their place in this blog. Their ancestors have been around for more than 150 million years, living alongside the dinosaurs and surviving the mass extinction event that wiped thousands of species from the planet. ![Close-up of a sea turtle swimming toward the camera in clear blue water above a sandy seabed. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/DuxySV-2-1024x604.jpg) From the very beginning of a tiny turtle’s life, it must dodge countless predators and swim thousands of kilometers before reaching adulthood. Safe to say, turtles are tough cookies! Yet these trials and tribulations don’t seem to faze them. When we are lucky enough to encounter one snoozing on the reef or gracefully swimming off into the blue, they embody a wonderfully chilled-out attitude that is hard not to envy. According to scientific research, the longest-living sea turtle species are the green turtle and the loggerhead turtle, both of which can live for more than 80 years. Other species, such as the hawksbill and leatherback turtles, have been found to live for up to 50 years. However, animals with such long lifespans are incredibly difficult to study, as they can outlive the very humans attempting to research them. Therefore, some speculation remains that, much like humans, there may be turtles out there that have lived to celebrate their 100th birthday. ![Close-up of a sea turtle underwater, with a second turtle visible in the turquoise water above a coral reef. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1053877-1024x682.jpg) **Final Thoughts** The oldest known reef fish is a midnight snapper found off the coast of Western Australia, which was estimated to be 81 years old! The ocean is a treasure trove of endless discovery and enquiry, constantly revealing new stories, making every snorkeling experience unique. By protecting and conserving our oceans, we can continue to learn from these remarkable animals and uncover the many secrets that the ocean still holds. **Categories:** Conservation, Marine Life **Tags:** animal behavior, conservation, coral reef, Snorkel Venture, snorkel with turtles, snorkeling, snorkeling vacation, snorkelling with whale sharks --- ### [Pelagics: Your Questions Answered](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/18/pelagics-your-questions-answered/) **Published:** August 18, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Like many of you, I was introduced to the wondrous personalities of these pelagic species through videos and photos, whether it be in a magazine, online, or on television. I was enamored by each species’ unique persona as they danced across the screen or pages I was thumbing through, and I was desperate to meet them face to face in their natural habitat–the ocean. Suffice it to say, pelagics are very likely the reason a lot of us continue to jump in the water day after day, year after year, kitted out in mask and snorkel. **Content:** ## **What Does Pelagic Mean?** The word pelagic generally refers to marine species that spend their time roaming the open ocean, as opposed to residing on the reefs. This includes fish species like tuna, mackerel, jacks, marlin, barracuda, as well as cetaceans–whales and dolphins–and other marine mammals like seals and sea lions. [Mantas](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/06/12/where-to-snorkel-with-manta-rays/), [sharks](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/06/05/snorkeling-with-indonesias-gentle-giants/), and most other elasmobranchs will also be considered pelagic. We can even lump sea turtles into the pelagic category, as most species will spend a significant part of their lives roaming the open sea. ![Underwater scene with a swordfish gliding near the surface as several smaller fish swim nearby in blue ocean water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1068175-1024x682.jpg) ## **Why are Pelagics Special?** Ever since cameras started going underwater, pelagic species like sharks, turtles, [mantas](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/06/12/where-to-snorkel-with-manta-rays/), and marine mammals like whales and dolphins have routinely taken center stage in natural history productions and on the covers of wildlife magazines for their enigmatic qualities. Like many of you, I was introduced to the wondrous personalities of these pelagic species through videos and photos, whether it be in a magazine, online, or on television. I was enamored by each species’ unique persona as they danced across the screen or pages I was thumbing through, and I was desperate to meet them face to face in their natural habitat–the ocean. Suffice it to say, pelagics are very likely the reason a lot of us continue to jump in the water day after day, year after year, kitted out in mask and snorkel. The more we learn about many of these species–take sharks for example, who have been basted with the stigma of being cold-blooded killers, we’re quickly learning that’s not at all true, and[ swimming alongside most shark species](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/06/05/snorkeling-with-indonesias-gentle-giants/) and other stigmatized species is a safe and exhilarating experience! Additionally, marine mammals such as whales, dolphins, and sea lions are widely recognized as sentient beings. What this often means is that interactions with these intelligent and [self-aware animals](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/12/16/the-mystery-of-animal-intelligence/) can be far more profound than a casual encounter. When a whale or dolphin stops to look at you, you can feel their gaze deep within you—studying you. When one of these cetaceans accepts you as a non-threatening being and begins to interact with you, that’s a conscious decision the animal had to make and process through cognitive decision-making. **There are no words to truly describe how amazing it is to have a wild animal seek you out and then choose to interact with you on their terms.** ![Underwater shot of a large spotted whale shark beside a snorkeler with a camera in clear blue water (snorkelventure logo top-right). | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/P1077519-1024x682.jpg) In the case of fish species like jacks, tuna, or [marlin](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/12/18/mexico-sardine-run-trip-report/), they may not have the brain power of a whale or dolphin, but “these fish ain’t no dummies,” as my colleague Lydia would say. Giant trevally and bluefin trevally have tactical hunting patterns and are not too dissimilar to wolves or Africa’s wild dogs in how they corral and divide their prey. Mexico’s Sardine Run brings in dense shoals of sardine and mackerel, along with striped marlin that hunt these little fish. As you watch the striped marlin hunt the schools of mackerel and sardines, you’ll quickly see that the marlin rapidly flash their luminous scales just before darting into the bait balls. It’s thought that the marlin flash like this as a signal to one another, letting the other marlin circling the bait ball from below know that they’re going in for a quick bite! ## **What to Expect from Pelagic Encounters** There are certain pelagic species you can encounter on or very close to reefs, like sea turtles, some jack fish species like giant trevally when they come into hunt, a few types of reef sharks, and mantas when they come to get cleaned on cleaning stations, but most of your pelagic encounters will happen in the open blue water. As the vast majority of pelagic marine life doesn’t rely on reefs for habitat, reproduction, or food, you’ll need to pull your focus from the reefs and switch your attention to the deep blue. ![Close-up underwater view of a shark swimming toward the camera with several other sharks in the blue ocean behind it | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1033751-1024x683.jpg) Depending on the species and the behavior, your encounters can vary quite a bit. Pelagic fish like jacks will generally roam just off the reef in the blue. Most encounters with these fellas will be brief as they patrol up and down the edges of the reef in search of their next meal. However, if you happen to be in the vicinity of their food source, such as large schools of fusileers or scads, you might get lucky with a more exhilarating and prolonged encounter as they corral their prey into tight schools and tactically pierce the ball of fish. Other exciting pelagic encounters close to the reef could include reef sharks as they casually cruise along the reef top and edges, and turtles as they rest or munch on the corals. If you’re patient with the turtles, you might get a nice face-to-face with one as they slowly rise to the surface for a breath. My personal favorite pelagic species to find around reefy areas is mantas. **These winged beauties are pure magic to watch as they gracefully glide through the water, especially if you find them feeding or cleaning!** ![Manta ray gliding underwater in deep blue ocean, logo seen in the top-right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/616169771_18175036702373970_4606262702970936777_n-1024x682.jpg) With manta rays–and other [highly intelligent species](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/12/16/the-mystery-of-animal-intelligence/)–it’s always best to have a bit of patience, as interactions have to take place on their terms. We call these passive interactions. If you try to force the encounter, nine times out of ten, the manta will give you a wide berth before disappearing into the blue. Some mantas will have their pace set on cruise control as they move from point A to point B, and your time with them will be over before you really have a chance to realize what’s happening. In instances like this, just count yourself lucky for being able to see the fish with the largest brain. If you happen to get lucky and find one or more feeding or cleaning, these are moments you will want to savor. Depending on the depth of the cleaning station, the mantas might be a bit on the deep side by comparison to the more staple reef creatures you’re used to enjoying, with depths varying from five to twelve meters (fifteen to thirty feet). Not to worry, mantas are big, measuring three to five meters (ten to fifteen feet), and are very easy to see even at these depths. Watching the cleaning behavior is great fun and interesting, especially if there is more than one, as you’ll be able to watch their queuing behavior as they take turns coming in for a little bath time. **Sometimes their curiosity will get the better of them, and they’ll take a quick break from the cleaning station and pop up to the surface to give us snorkelers an inquisitive glance and a wave of their mighty wings!** ![Diver with blue fins snorkels over a colorful coral reef with a manta ray nearby; Snorkelventure logo in the corner of the image. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/492353085_1250533570405456_3204706634296986473_n-1024x732.jpg) For me, the ultimate [manta encounter](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/06/12/where-to-snorkel-with-manta-rays/) is when they’re feeding or courting, as this almost always involves multiple mantas right up on the surface, or just beneath it, and the intensity dial has been turned up to eleven! All their inhibitions have been left in the blue, as their primary objective is to either siphon up as much of the plankton as possible, or to be the best dancer in the courtship ballet the mantas seem to perform. Whatever the case, the mantas will very likely involve you in their feeding and courting behavior with elegance and grace. For the more pelagic pelagics, like dolphins, whales, mobulas, sea lions, marlins, and whatever else we happen to come across in the blue desert that is the open ocean, patience and perseverance are paramount! The ocean really is much like a desert, in that most of these species are relatively solitary creatures, spread out, and locating these nomadic ocean wanderers can be a bit tedious at times. Much like fishing, you can spend hours looking for the telltale signs of life, or it can all happen just after leaving the harbor. However much time goes by though, once you get you get the “GO GO GO!” from the captain or guide and are suddenly floating over a fleet of several hundred mobulas, a fencing guild of marlin, or a mother humpback whale and its curious calf, the time spent swimming alongside these wondrous animals is, for me and other like minded snorkelers, like nothing else I’ve ever experienced with the residents of the reefs. **The way these enigmatic beauties congregate in masses, hunt, or involve you in whatever underwater behavior they happen to be performing can bring tears to the eyes.** ![Underwater photo of a large whale gliding, its tail fluke visible as sunlight ripples on the surface above | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/735658315_18193971535373970_5720263891909916890_n-1024x682.jpg) ## **Where to Find Pelagics** In every single one of the countries we run snorkeling tours to, you can predictably encounter a variety of pelagic species. Here’s a quick list of where you can find particular species. Remember, pelagics spend their time roaming the open ocean, and the ocean is rather large, so a bit of patience is required. - ### [**Indonesia**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay-by-liveaboard-coralia-liveaboard/) Indonesia is a fantastic place to encounter pelagics, and with so many different destinations across the country, there’s a wide array of pelagic species you can come across. Some of the more iconic species people rave about are the mantas, turtles, and various species of jack fish, like the giant and bluefin trevally. - ### [ **Palau**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/snorkeling-palau-by-liveaboard-solitude-gaia/) As the world’s first shark sanctuary, protecting not only the shark species within Palau’s waters but also all elasmobranchs, including manta rays, Palau is a fantastic place to encounter pelagics. Several species of sharks, turtles, barracudas, jacks, and manta rays can be seen on the surface or just beneath it! - ### [**Solomon Islands**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/solomon-islands-bilikiki-liveaboard/) Given its truly remote nature, far removed from the effects of commercial tourism, the Solomons can be a great place to swim with different pelagic species, from bigeye jacks, sea turtles, sharks, and even mantas. - ### [**The Maldives**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/maldives-manta-research-expedition-by-liveaboard-black-manta/) For years, the Maldives have been a very popular destination to encounter a wide variety of pelagics. Even though the Maldives is a small country made up of a few tiny islands, it holds the world’s largest population of reef manta rays! Whale sharks are not uncommon, along with other species of sharks and rays, like the eagle ray. ![School of fish swimming over a coral reef in clear blue ocean water, sunlight filtering through | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1005965-1024x682.jpg) - ### [**Dominican Republic**](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/12/07/the-most-profound-encounter-youll-ever-have-snorkeling/) The Silver Banks off the Dominican Republic host the largest seasonal population of North Atlantic humpback whales. With only three operators permitted to snorkel in the Silver Banks, and an estimated 5-7,000 whales congregating here each year, it makes for some truly mind-blowing encounters with humpback whales! - ### [**Mexico**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/mexico-sardine-run/) There is no better place in the world for predictable pelagic encounters. Every day on the water is different, and every month seems to bring in a new species for its seasonal migration. I’ve had some pretty magical experiences with pelagics around the world, but every time I visit Mexico for a trip, I inevitably end up having the best encounters of my life! - ### [**Egypt**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-eclipse-snorkel-tour/) Egypt is a great country to encounter a variety of pelagic species. Off of most of the reefs, you can expect turtles, jacks, barracuda, and the odd reef shark. But what’s really amazing about Egypt is its population of dolphins, who seem to seek out snorkelers! Also, in a few select areas, you can predictably find feeding dugongs. - ### [**Belize**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-shallow-freediving-workshop-at-turneffe-island-resort/) Belize, in my opinion, is very much underrated as a pelagic destination. It is an amazing place for species like eagle rays and other large stingrays. More so than any other place we visit, actually. There are also reasonable chances to swim with a curious pod of dolphins and spot numerous sharks. We’ve even had great hammerheads pass by on multiple occasions! ![Aerial view of a large group of people in orange gear forming a grid pattern in turquoise water, with a few swimmers nearby; snorkelventure watermark top right. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/653056328_1537585548366922_3789320616349143762_n-2-1024x682.jpg) Snorkeling with pelagic species such as sharks, whales, sea lions, marlin, manta rays, and turtles is a profoundly unique experience that transcends the ordinary. These unique species exhibit remarkable underwater behavior, from the elegant piroetts of mantas as they feed and court, the calculated hunting tactics of jacks and marlin, to the cognitive displays of interest and acceptance by cetaceans. As a result, each interaction is distinct, shaped by the personality and behavior of the creature you encounter, making every encounter an unrepeatable adventure. However, the unpredictability of these encounters adds to their allure; one may spend time waiting in anticipation, yet the moment a mighty whale locks eyes with you or a playful sea lion approaches can be life-changing. The feeling of being part of their world, even for a fleeting moment, fosters a deep connection to marine life that is both humbling and exhilarating. Such experiences remind us of the awe-inspiring beauty of nature, leaving a lasting impression and a renewed appreciation for the ocean’s incredible inhabitants. **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life, On Tour, Tips & Advice --- ### [Entry and Exit Requirements by Destination](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/09/08/entry-and-exit-requirements-by-destination/) **Published:** September 8, 2021 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** *Note: All information on this page is based on the International Air Transport Association (IATA). We monitor this site frequently and will update this page accordingly. Please note whilst we will endeavour to keep this page up to date we ask you to take responsibility for making sure you are compliant with regulations before travel.* [IATA Website](https://www.iatatravelcentre.com/world.php) ## Indonesia ![coral reef with raja ampat islands above | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/indonesia.jpg) **Information Last Updated:** January 18, 2022 **Indonesia Snorkel Safaris:** [Alor & Komodo Safari,](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-komodo-safari-2/) [Alor Snorkeling Week](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-safari/), [Borneo & Sulawesi Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/borneo-and-sulawesi-snorkeling-safari/), [Epic Indonesia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/epic-indonesia-snorkel-safari-alor-komodo-wakatobi-bali-misool/), [Komodo Snorkeling Week](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/komodo-snorkeling-week/), [Misool & Wakatobi Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-wakatobi-safari/), [Misool Snorkeling Tours](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tours/), [Raja Ampat with Coralia Liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/), [Raja Ampat Snorkel Week](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-snorkel-week/), [Raja Ampat with Amira Liveaboar](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-snorkeling-amira-liveaboard/)d, [Raja Ampat-Halmahera-Lembeh with Mermaid II Liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-halmahera-lembeh-snorkeling-mermaid-ii-liveaboard/), [Sulawesi & Raja Ampat Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/), [Sulawesi Photo Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-photo-safari/), [Triton Bay & Raja Ampat Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/), [Wakatobi Snorkel Week](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/wakatobi-snorkel-week/) **Resuming Indonesia Snorkel Safaris:** TBC **Arrival Requirements:** - Passengers are not allowed to enter. **This does not apply to:** - Passengers with an e-visa with a visa number ending with LN - Passengers with an APEC Business Travel Card - Passengers arriving to Bali (DPS) as tourists and arriving from Bahrain, China, France, Hungary, India, Italy, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Liechtenstein, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Spain, Sweden, or UAE. Passengers must have a confirmed booking of accommodation and medical insurance with a minimum coverage of USD 100,000- for COVID-19 treatment. - Passengers are not allowed to Transit. - Passengers must enter Indonesia via Jakarta (CGK) or Manado (MDC) - Passengers must have a printed negative COVID-19 PCR or RT-PCR test taken at most 72 hours before departure from the first embarkation point. Test results must be in English. - Passengers must have a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing they were fully vaccinated at least 14 days before departure. The certificate must be in both English and the local language of the country where passengers were vaccinated. - Passengers are subject to a COVID-19 PCR test upon arrival and quarantine for up to 5 days - A completed “electronic health awareness card (e-HAC)” must be presented upon arrival. The card can be obtained before departure through the “Pedulilindungi” mobile app ## **Belize** ![reefscape in belize | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/best-places-to-snorkel-in-belize.jpg) **Information Last Updated:** January 18, 2022 **Belize Snorkel Safaris:** [Belize by Liveaboard—Belize Aggressor IV](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-by-liveaboard-aggressor-iv/), [Belive by Liveaboard—Belize Aggressor III](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-by-liveaboard/), [Belize Photo Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/snorkeling-photography-shallow-freediving-workshop-cayman-islands/), [Belize Snorkel Week with Turneffe Island Resort](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) **Resuming Belize Snorkel Safaris:** May 2021 **Arrival Requirements:** All travelers must: - Passengers arriving from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa or Zimbabwe: - must have a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing that they were fully vaccinated at least 14 days before arrival; and - are subject to a COVID-19 test upon arrival at their own expense. - are subject to quarantine at a designated facility for 10 days. - Passengers are subject to a COVID-19 test upon arrival at their own expense. This does not apply to: - Passengers with a negative COVID-19 PCR test result taken 96 hours before departure; - passengers with a negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test result taken 48 hours before departure; - passengers younger than 6 years; - passengers arriving from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa or Zimbabwe. - Passengers are subject to a medical screening. - Passengers traveling as tourists must have a reservation confirmation of an approved hotel. the hotel must be listed on <https://belizing.com/Tourism-Gold-Standard-Hotels/>. This does not apply to: - passengers visiting friends or relatives. Details can be found at <https://www.travelbelize.org/health-safety/> - passengers arriving from Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa or Zimbabwe. - Passengers could be subject to quarantine for 10 days, this does not apply to: - passengers with a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing that they were fully vaccinated at least 14 days before arrival and a negative COVID-19 PCR or rapid antigen test; - passengers with a COVID-19 recovery certificate issued at most 3 months before arrival. **Departure Procedures:** *Liveaboard Snorkel Safaris* - For travelers to the USA (and other countries that accept Antigen test results), a medical lab tech will visit the yacht shortly after it returns to the dock to administer the test. The lab will email the results that evening. The cost is USD 80, and the yacht will add it to your onboard account. For countries that require a PCR test, this test is available as well. PCR Test results are currently taking 24-36 hours. The cost of the test is USD 230. The test will be done onboard the yacht. *Resort Snorkel Safaris* - For travelers to the USA (and other countries that accept Antigen test results), a medical lab tech will be waiting for us upon our arrival back at the Raddison Fort George Hotel where they will do the testing. The lab will have the results within 30-45 minutes. The cost is $87.50 USD. For countries that require a PCR test, this test is also available also. PCR Test results are currently taking up to 2 hours. The cost of the test is $250 USD. ## **Egypt** ![aerial view of marsa shagra resort and house reef | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Egypt-Header.jpg) **Information Last Updated:** January 18, 2022 **Snorkel Safaris:** [Egypt Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-snorkeling-safari/) **Resuming Egypt Snorkel Safaris:** May 2022 **Arrival Requirements:** - Passengers arriving ***from*** Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China (People’s Rep.), Colombia, Ecuador, France (Paris only), Germany (Frankfurt only), Guyana, Italy (Rome only), Japan, Korea (Rep.), Mexico, New-Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Thailand, USA, United Kingdom (London Heathrow only), Uruguay or Venezuela must have: - the original paper certificate of a negative COVID-19 RT-PRC test taken at most 96 hours before the departure of the last direct flight to Egypt; or - a printed negative COVID-19 rapid antigen test taken at most 24 hours before departure of the last direct flight to Egypt. - The test must: - be based on a nasal or oral swab. - have the hour and date of the withdrawal of the sample;(which is the date on which arrival window will be counted) - be issued by an authorized accredited laboratory - must contain the laboratory’s stamp OR a QR code with the required passenger details. - indicate the type of sample taken for the swab, - indicate the type of test used (RT-PCR) - The certificate is accepted in English, French, or Arabic. - This does not apply to passengers with a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing that they were fully vaccinated at least 14 days before departure. - Vaccines accepted are: - AstraZeneca, Janssen (J&J), Moderna, Pfizer, Sinopharm, Sinovac, or Sputnik V - The vaccine certificate must be in Arabic, French, or English; and have a QR code, or must be approved y the Egyptian Embassy in the country of departure. ***\*Note: At the moment, vaccine cards from the United States and many other countries do not come with a QR code option, so, we ask that all vaccinated Snorkel Venture guests receive an RT-PCR test and follow the above COVID-19 testing requirements for entry into Egypt to avoid any complications.*** - Passengers arriving from a country ***other than***: - Argentina, Australia, Bolivia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, China (People’s Rep.), Colombia, Ecuador, France (Paris only), Germany (Frankfurt only), Guyana, Italy (Rome only), Japan, Korea (Rep.), Mexico, New-Zealand, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Thailand, USA, United Kingdom (London Heathrow only), Uruguay or Venezuela must have a printed negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test taken at most 72 hours before departure of the last direct flight to Egypt. - The test must have: - The hour and date of the withdrawal of the sample; (which is the date on which the arrival window will be counted) - be issued by an authorized accredited laboratory - must contain the laboratory’s stamp OR a QR code with the required passenger details. - indicate the type of sample taken for the swab, - indicate the type of test used (RT-PCR) - the certificate is accepted in English, French, or Arabic. - This does not apply to passengers with a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing that they were fully vaccinated at least 14 days before departure. - Vaccines accepted are: - AstraZeneca, Janssen (J&J), Moderna, Pfizer, Sinopharm, Sinovac, or Sputnik V - The vaccine certificate must be in Arabic, French, or English; and have QR code or must be approved by the Egyptian Embassy in the country of departure. ***\*Note: At the moment vaccine cards from the United States and many other countries do not come with a QR code option, so we ask that all vaccinated Snorkel Venture guests follow the above COVID-19 RT-PCR testing requirements for entry into Egypt to avoid any complications.*** - Passengers arriving ***from*** Argentina, Bangladesh, Belize, Bhutan, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Ecuador, El Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, India, Mexico, Myanmar, Nepal, Nicaragua, Pakistan, Panama, Paraguay, Peru, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela or Vietnam are subject to a COVID-19 PCR test upon arrival and could be subject to quarantine. - Visas on arrival services are open. eVisas purchased in advance are also available from [visa2egypt.gov.eg](http://visa2egypt.gov.eg) - All travelers will be required to submit a traveler’s declaration including a questionnaire on information on trips undertaken in the 14 days before coming to Egypt and a confirmation that the passengers have not shown any symptoms of COVID-19 or knowingly been in touch with coronavirus patients. - All travelers will need to have international medical insurance covering their stay in Egypt. ## Mexico ![arch of cabo san lucas with pelagic safari boat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Mexico-Header.jpg) **Information Last Updated:** January 18, 2022 **Snorkel Safaris:** [Mexico Big Fish Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/mexico-pelagic-safari/) **Resuming Belize Snorkel Safaris:** March 2022 **Arrival Requirements:** - As of January 1, 2022, there are no COVID-19 entry regulations for passengers to Mexico. **Departure Procedures:** - For those guests returning to the United States or any other country that requires a COVID-19 test prior to departure, we will have all testing logistics organized in advance. ## Tonga & Fiji ![humpback whale breaching | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/09/tonga-humpback.jpg) **Information Last Updated:** November 15, 2021 **Tonga & Fiji Snorkel Safaris:** [Tonga & Fiji Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/tonga-fiji-snorkeling-safari/) **Resuming Indonesia Snorkel Safaris:** September 2022 *While Fiji is open for tourism, Tonga has a prolonged and measured approach for reopening international tourism. At the moment, the government has implemented a ban on all foreign visitors. Snorkel Venture has tentatively scheduled the restart of our Tonga Fiji Snorkeling Safaris for our September 2022 Tonga & Fiji Snorkel Safari.* **Fiji Arrival Requirements:** - Passengers arriving from Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Cook Isl., Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Greece, Guam, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshal Isl., Micronesia, Nauru, New Calendonia, New Zealand, Norfolk Isl., Northern Mariana Isl., Palau, Portugal, Qatar, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Isl., Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, UAE, UK, USA, Vanuatu or Wallis and Futuna Isl. must have: - a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing that they were fully vaccinated at least 14 days before departure. - Vaccines accepted are AstraZeneca (SK Bioscience), AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Covishield, Janssen, Moderna (Spikevax) and Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty). - This does not apply to passengers younger than 18 years traveling with a fully vaccinated parent or guardian. - Passengers arriving from a country other than Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Cook Isl., Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Greece, Guam, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshal Isl., Micronesia, Nauru, New Calendonia, New Zealand, Norfolk Isl., Northern Mariana Isl., Palau, Portugal, Qatar, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Isl., Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, UAE, UK, USA, Vanuatu or Wallis and Futuna Isl. must have: - a pre-approval from the COVID-19 Risk Mitigation Taskforce (CRMT); and - a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing that they were fully vaccinated at least 14 days before departure. - Vaccines accepted are AstraZeneca (SK Bioscience), AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Covishield, Janssen, Moderna (Spikevax) and Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty). - This does not apply to passengers younger than 18 years traveling with a fully vaccinated parent or guardian. - Passengers must have a negative COVID-19 PCR test taken at most 2 days before departure from the first embarkation point. The test must be based on nasal, nasopharyngeal or mid-turbinate swab. This does not apply to: - passengers with a positive PCR test taken at most 90 days before departure. They must have a medical certificate issued by a medical practitioner showing they are fit to fly and have completed an isolation period. - Passengers arriving from Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Cook Isl., Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Greece, Guam, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshal Isl., Micronesia, Nauru, New Calendonia, New Zealand, Norfolk Isl., Northern Mariana Isl., Palau, Portugal, Qatar, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Isl., Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, UAE, UK, USA, Vanuatu or Wallis and Futuna Isl. must have proof of: - at lest 3 night pre-paid accommodation at a Care Fiju Commitment (CFC) hotel; and - certified transport from the airport. - They must have stayed in Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Cook Isl., Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Greece, Guam, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshal Isl., Micronesia, Nauru, New Calendonia, New Zealand, Norfolk Isl., Northern Mariana Isl., Palau, Portugal, Qatar, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Isl., Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, UAE, UK, USA, Vanuatu or Wallis and Futuna Isl. in the last 14 days. - Passengers arriving from a country other than Australia, Bahrain, Belgium, Cambodia, Canada, Chile, Cook Isl., Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Finland, France, French Polynesia, Greece, Guam, Ireland, Israel, Italy, Japan, Kiribati, Korea, Kuwait, Luxembourg, Malta, Marshal Isl., Micronesia, Nauru, New Calendonia, New Zealand, Norfolk Isl., Northern Mariana Isl., Palau, Portugal, Qatar, Samoa, Singapore, Solomon Isl., Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Tonga, Turkey, Tuvalu, UAE, UK, USA, Vanuatu or Wallis and Futuna Isl. must have proof of pre-paid accommodation of at least 10 nights at a Fiji Managed Quarantine facility. - Passengers must have health insurance to cover COVID-19 expenses. ## **French Polynesia** ![Many black tip reef sharks on the surface | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/french-polynesia-snorkeling-1-e1600411232128.jpg) **Information Last Updated:** January 18, 2022 **French Polynesia Snorkel Safaris:** [French Polynesia Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) **Resuming French Polynesia Snorkel Safaris:** May 2022 **Arrival Requirements:** - Passengers are not allowed to enter. This does not apply to: - passengers with a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing that they were fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Moderna (Spikevax) or Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty) at least 7 days before departure or fully vaccinated with Janssen at least 28 days before departure, and their accompanying minors younger than 18 years. - In the past 15 days they must have only been in Argentina, Austra, Bahrain, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chinese Taipei, Comoros, Croatia, Cyprus, Czechia, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, French West Indies, Germany, Greece, hong Kong, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Korea, Latvia, Lebanon, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, Mayotte, Netherlands, New Calendonia, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Reunion, Romania, Rwanda, San Marino, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, USA, Vanuatu or Vatican City; - passenger with a travel authorization obtained before departure at <https://www.demarches-simplifiees.fr/> - Passengers must complete an “ETIS Applicatin” at <https://www.etis.pf/en/> at least 6 days and at most 30 days before departure. - Passengers must have a negative COVID-19 antigen or RT-PCR test taken at most 24 hours before departure from the first embarkation point. - Passengers must have a completed sworn statement obtained at [http://www.polynesie-francaise.pref.gouv.fr/content/download/46873/282954/file/D%C3%A9claration%20sur%20l’honneur.pdf](http://www.polynesie-francaise.pref.gouv.fr/content/download/46873/282954/file/D%C3%A9claration%20sur%20l'honneur.pdf) - Passengers are subject to a COVID-19 antigen test upon arrival. - Passengers could be subject to quarantine for 10 days. - This does not apply to passengers with a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing that they were fully vaccinated with AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), Moderna (Spikevax) or Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty) at least 7 days before departure or fully vaccinated with Janssen at least 28 days before departure, and their accompanying minors younger than 18 years. ## Palau ![Aerial view of palau islands and reef | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Palau-Activities6-copy-scaled-e1600399334743.jpg) **Information Last Updated:** January 18, 2022 **Palau Snorkel Safaris:** [Palau Snorkeling Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-snorkeling-safari/) **Resuming Palau Snorkel Safaris:** March 2022 **Arrival Requirements:** - All travelers must provide proof of a COVID-19 vaccination, with the final dose received at least 14 days before your arrival in Palau. - A Pre-Arrival Negativ COVID-19 PCR test (or Documentation of Recovery) must be provided. - PCR tests must be taken within 3 days; or - Antigen tests must be taken within 1 day prior to departure from the point of origin to Palau. - All travelers must provide valid addresses and contact information in Palau. - All guests must complete a Day 4 supplement COVID-19 test. - All travelers shall be COVID tested on the fourth (4th) day following their arrival to Palau and are required to follow all requirements states in the Mitigation ORders issued upon arrival. **Departure Procedures:** - “Return Travel Testing” is available through Balau National Hospital. For travelers to the USA (and other countries that accept Antigen test results) Palau’s Day 5 (Friday) test will meet the 3-day testing window for return travel testing for entry into the USA. Guests must embark on flights departing Sunday or Monday and travel directly to the USA with no in-transit stopovers. [Click Here](https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/travelers/testing-international-air-travelers.html?fbclid=IwAR1JUhZlNNYrqy6416oERmHFbm6Kt5VzmrrcxLr8SPsxH4KOicGaPHaUusU) for the CDC’s FAQ for USA testing. PCR tests are also available through Balau National Hospital. Test results take 24-48 hours to return. ## Philippines ![Coral reef scene from the Philippines | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Philippines-Header.jpg) **Information Last Updated:** January 18, 2022 **Philippines Snorkel Safaris:** [Moalboal & Cabilao Resort Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/moalboal-cabilao-resort-safari/), [Philippines Resort & Liveaboard Combo](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/philippines-liveaboard-resort-combo/) **Resuming Indonesia Snorkel Safaris:** Mid 2022 **Arrival Requirements:** - The Philippines has a prolonged and measured approach for reopening to international tourism. At the moment, the government has implemented a ban on all foreign visitors. There has yet to be an official announcement on when the country will reopen. ## Cuba ![classic street view of Havana Cuba | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Cuba-Header.jpg) **Information Last Updated:** January 18, 2022 **Cuba Snorkel Safaris:** [Cuba Liveaboard Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cuba-safari/) **Resuming Cuba Snorkel Safaris:** June 2022 **Arrival Restrictions:** - Passengers must complete a “D’Viajeros” form at <https://dviajeros.mitrans.gob.cu/> before departure. This will generate a QR code which must be presented upon arrival. - Passengers arriving from Botswana, Eswatini, Sesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa or Zimbabwe must have: - a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing they were fully vaccinated; and - a negative COVID-19 RT-PCR test taken at most 72 hours before departure from the first embarkation point; and - are subject to take a COVID-19 RT-PCR test upon arrival; and - Passengers arriving from a country other than Botswana, Eswatini, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa or Zimbabwe must have a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing that they were fully vaccinated; and - a COVID-19 RT-PCR test taken at most 72 hours before departure from the first embarkation point. - The Covid Vaccination certificate does not apply to: - national of Cuba residing in Cuba; - passengers younger than 12 years; - passengers with a medical certificate of contraindication who cannot be vaccinated. - The COVID-19 test requirement does not apply to: - passengers younger than 12 years; - passengers traveling through tour operator agencies arriving from Canada or the Russian Fed. - Passengers could be subject to medical screening and a COVID-19 RT-PCR test upon arrival. - A completed “Declaracion de Sanidad del Viajero” must be presented upon arrival. ## **Honduras** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Roatan.jpg) **Information Last Updated:** November 18, 2021 **Honduras Snorkel Safaris:** [Roatan & Utila Snorkeling Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/roatan-utila-snorkeling-safari/) **Resuming Roatan & Utila Snorkel Safaris:** March 2022 **Arrival Restrictions:** - Passengers must have a negative COVID-19 test taken at most 72 hours before arrival. - Accepted tests are ELISA and RT-PCR - This does not apply to passengers with a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing that they were fully vaccinated at least two weeks prior to arrival - Vaccinated passengers must present the original card that was given to you at the site where they were vaccinated - A completed “Immigration Pre-Check” must be presented upon arrival. The form can be submitted online before departure at [http://prechequeo.inm.gob.hn](http://prechequeo.inm.gob.hn/) - - All travelers will need to print out and travel with the completed form that will be e-mailed to you - You must have paper copies of your Immigration Pre-Check and either your COVID-19 test results or proof of vaccination. You will be asked to show both at multiple points prior to boarding the flight and upon arriving in Roatan - All passengers must comply with the protocol established in the International Health Regulations at the time of entry into the country (clinical evaluation and mandatory quarantine) if the health authority determines so **Departure Procedures:** - For travelers to the USA (and other countries that accept Antigen test results), a medical lab tech will visit the yacht shortly after it returns to the dock to administer the test. The lab will email the results that evening. The cost is $60 USD, and the yacht will add it to your onboard account. For countries that require a PCR test, the procedure is the same, only the price is $250 USD and results may take anywhere from 12-36 hours. ## **Cayman Islands** ![coral reef in Belize | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Cayman-Island-reefs.jpg) **Information Last Updated:** January 18, 2022 **Cayman Islands Snorkel Safaris:** [Snorkeling Photography & Shallow Freediving Workshop ](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/snorkeling-photography-shallow-freediving-workshop-cayman-islands/) **Resuming Cayman Islands Snorkel Safaris:** October 2022 **Arrival Restrictions:** - Passengers must have a negative COVID-19 antigen or PCR test taken at most 1 day before the departure of the last direct flight to Cayman Isl. - This does not apply to passengers younger than 5 years. - Passengers must have a COVID-19 vaccination certificate showing that they were fully vaccinated at least 14 days before arrival. - Vaccines accepted are AstraZeneca (Vaxzevria), AstraZeneca (Covisshield), Janssen, Moderna (Spikevax), Pfizer-BioNTech (Comirnaty), Sinopharm and Sinovac. - This does not apply to nationals and residents of the Cayman Islands. - Passengers must obtain a Travel declaration or Travel Authorization from Travel Cayman before departure via <https://travelcayman.gov.ky/> - Passengers are subject to medical screening. - Passengers could be subject to quarantine for up to 14 days. More details can be found [here](https://www.exploregov.ky/faqs/covid-19-quarantine-info). - **Categories:** Destinations, Entry Requirements by Country **Tags:** Alami Alor Resort, Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Snorkel Venture Magazine Issue II - Ready to Read!](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/03/17/snorkel-venture-magazine-issue-ii-ready-to-read/) **Published:** March 17, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** We are very excited to announce that the second issue of [Snorkel Venture Magazine ](https://heyzine.com/flip-book/825d05db2c.html)is now available! The latest edition is a compilation of articles written by the entire Snorkel Venture team and is brimming with ocean content for you to dive into. If you’ve ever chatted with one of our team members, you’ll know how much we love sharing our knowledge and passion for the underwater world. Each of us comes from a different background and brings our own experiences and expertise to the table. Creating this magazine gave us the perfect opportunity to delve deeper into our favorite topic—the ocean—and share our insights. **Alongside being a great read the magazine serves a second purpose – giving back. As part of our Snorkel for Good program, all magazine contributions are donated directly to our charity partners, whose fabulous work you can catch up on in this issue.** ## Where can I read the magazine? - [**Online** ](https://heyzine.com/flip-book/825d05db2c.html)– both issues of the magazine are available free of charge on our website. Take a virtual flip through and explore at your leisure! - **In print** – If you like reading magazines the old school way, hard copy in hand, lounging in an arm chair, with a cup of coffee in the morning, you’re in luck, both issues will soon be available to order on our Snorkel for Good webshop. All proceeds go to charity! - **On tour** – Each of our tour leaders will bring a few copies of both issues on tour. Grab one, kick back, and enjoy a sunset read. ## **Have a Sneak Peak Inside…** **⇒ Photography** Marcus chats us through his favorite photo subjects of the year and the moments leading up to each shot, Duxy lays out how to get that tricky split shot and Alex delves deep into TG camera housing pros and cons! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-09-at-09.14.32-1024x687.jpg) **⇒ Where to book your next holiday** If you’re thinking about booking a trip with us but aren’t quite sure where to go, this issue is for you. Inside, you’ll find plenty of in-depth destination content to help you pick your next vacation location. We also catch up with members of our travel team to hear about their experiences on tour this year, and Alex shares everything you need to know about snorkeling in the Banda Sea! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-17-at-07.32.57-1024x722.jpg) **⇒ [Conservation ](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkelforgood/)** We catch up with each of our charity partners and find out how our donations helped drive the incredible progress they achieved in 2025. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Screenshot-2026-03-09-at-09.36.52-1024x681.jpg) **⇒ Plus so much more!** If this sneak peek has sparked your curiosity, head to our website to keep reading, or watch out for our new webshop, launching soon, where you can grab your own hard copy and help protect our oceans. **Categories:** Conservation, Destinations, Marine Life, On Tour, Photography, Tips & Advice **Tags:** conservation, coral reef, GoPro, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, snorkeling tips, underwater photography --- ### [Where to Snorkel with Manta Rays](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/06/12/where-to-snorkel-with-manta-rays/) **Published:** June 12, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** A favorite conversation on our trips is, “What’s your favorite species to snorkel with?” It’s a question that often sparks friendly debates, storytelling, and a shared sense of wonder at just how much of the ocean remains for us to explore. Unsurprisingly, the answers to this question vary hugely. Some prefer microscopic species, others the camouflaged creatures you can barely see, while some are in it for the coral and others prefer the big stuff, like whales and sharks! Yet despite these different preferences, there’s one thing all snorkelers share: the sense of connection to nature that snorkeling gives us. It takes us out of our everyday lives and puts us smack bang in the middle of a natural ecosystem. No animal quite matches this feeling of connection like the manta ray. Having a manta ray barrel roll inches from your face or glide past you like a spaceship is an encounter that never fails to leave people in absolute awe. ![Manta ray gliding through deep blue ocean with sunlight on its fins, snorkelventure logo in the top right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/616182197_18175036738373970_102936284263116550_n-1024x682.jpg) ## **Manta Ray Depth Depends On Behavior** How deep a manta ray swims depends largely on what it’s doing. When traveling between feeding and mating sites, manta rays can cover huge distances and dive surprisingly deep, up to 4,000 feet. These deep dives allow them to collect topographical data that helps them navigate the big blue. ![Underwater view of a manta ray gliding above a coral reef with a blue ocean backdrop and snorkelventure branding in the top-right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/492083866_1250533567072123_1176910032237023246_n-1024x769.jpg) When it’s time to eat, however, mantas stay much closer to the surface, usually within the top 160 feet of water. As filter feeders, they eat plankton, which is most abundant in these shallower depths. One easy way to spot a feeding manta is by looking at its cephalic lobes: the horn-like extensions beside its mouth. When feeding, these unfurl to funnel plankton rich water straight into their mouths.Another reason manta rays find themselves in the shallows is bath time! Mantas can’t remove stubborn hitchhikers like barnacles by themselves, so they visit what we call manta cleaning stations. These are typically areas of shallow reef. Here, cleaner wrasse swim in between the manta gills and along their skin to feast on attached parasites and dead tissue. A beautiful example of symbiosis in action.A third behavior you may come across whilst snorkeling is manta courtship, during which, manta rays dance their own version of a conga line, otherwise known as a manta train. At the front of the train is a female manta ray, weaving, gliding, and diving through the water. Behind her follow multiple male suitors, with trains sometimes reaching up to 30 individuals in length. The female is testing the stamina and determination of the males as they follow her through a ritual that can last for hours. The final persisting male earns the opportunity to mate with her. Whether feeding, cleaning, or courting, these shallow water behaviors are ideal for snorkelers as the rays tend to aggregate predictably in specific locations to do so. This means we can visit known cleaning and feeding stations, giving us a great chance of repeat shallow encounters. ## **Our Top Three Manta Snorkeling Destinations** [**Maldives**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/maldives-manta-research-expedition-by-liveaboard-black-manta/) With an estimated population of around 6,000 resident reef manta rays, the Maldives is undoubtedly one of the world’s best destinations for manta snorkeling. ![Aerial view of turquoise tropical sea with several manta rays gliding near the surface. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/690767043_1582037647255045_1948496925250369480_n-2-1024x683.jpg) **When to go?** While mantas can be seen year-round, the peak season runs from May to November. During the southwest monsoon, winds and currents concentrate plankton in the bays and lagoons of the atolls, drawing large numbers of manta rays together to feed. **What behavior will I see?** Feeding is the main event. You’ll often witness mantas performing their signature barrel rolls—graceful underwater somersaults with mouths wide open as they filter plankton from the water. Beyond feeding, the Maldives is home to many cleaning stations and during peak season, large aggregations can also lead to courtship displays so lucky snorkelers may encounter manta trains! **Which species will I encounter?** The Maldives is best known for its population of reef manta rays but during peak season there’s also a chance of encountering the larger Oceanic mantas. ![Underwater scene of manta rays gliding over a rocky seafloor, with a snorkelventure logo in the top-right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/715612355_1607690798023063_511486031575306078_n-2-1-1024x683.jpg) [**Palau**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/snorkeling-palau-by-liveaboard-solitude-gaia/) When talking about manta ray encounters, we have to mention [Palau](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-snorkeling-liveaboard-safari/). Manta snorkeling in Palau comes with crystal-clear water, thriving reefs, and many other species of rays, sharks, and reef fish. ![Aerial view of small green islands surrounded by turquoise coral reefs and blue ocean. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DJI_20250307121432_0078_D-1024x683.jpg) ## **When to go?** Although manta rays can be seen reliably in Palau all year round, the peak season is generally considered to be from December to March. With calm waters and excellent visibility, you’ll be in manta heaven! ## **What behavior will I see?** Palau is a fantastic place to see mantas while snorkeling because they are often found feeding on the surface at certain tides, which bring in all the plankton. They can be found cleaning as well, but the big manta show happens when they feed! ## **What species will I encounter?** You will mostly encounter reef manta rays, which can be distinguished by their smaller size, reaching approximately a 4.5-metre wingspan at their largest. They also have Y-shaped white patches on their backs and distinctive spot patterns on their undersides. ## **Indonesia: [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) and [Komodo National Park](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-and-komodo-snorkel-liveaboard-coralia/)** I couldn’t write this blog without mentioning Indonesia. Known for its strong currents that bring nutrient-rich water to the surface, manta rays can be seen throughout the archipelago all year round. Specifically, when snorkeling in [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-north-to-south/) and [Komodo,](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/ultimate-komodo-snorkel-liveaboard-coralia/) you are highly likely to bump into a manta ray or two. ![Aerial view of jagged rocky shoreline meeting clear turquoise water along the coast. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/535743291_1350707547054724_6856629197056284829_n-1024x682.jpg) ## **When to go?** There isn’t a specific manta ray season in Indonesia, as manta rays tend to be resident in these areas and can be seen year-round. ## **What behavior will I see?** Home to thousands of resident manta rays, Indonesia is a fantastic place to observe a wide range of manta behaviours. There are, of course, many cleaning stations where manta rays aggregate, but chance encounters out in the blue while snorkeling are also common. When snorkeling in Indonesia, always keep an eye on the blue water, as a manta can glide by at any moment. When the water is rich with plankton, you can often come across multiple mantas feeding together, as well as courting trains. If you are really lucky and keep an eye on the horizon while cruising through the island passages, you may even witness a manta ray breaching. This is quite rare, and scientists are still not entirely certain why they do it, but it is a spectacular sight to see a five-metre manta launch itself from the water and crash back onto the surface. ![Underwater scene with a manta ray gliding above a colorful coral reef and many small fish. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/561792407_1400536672071811_45523288347041906_n-1024x682.jpg) ## **What species will I encounter?** Indonesia is home to resident reef manta rays; however, it is also one of the best places in the world to see oceanic manta rays. Oceanic mantas, with wingspans of up to 7 metres, use the strong currents to glide effortlessly through the water and can sometimes be seen at cleaning stations alongside reef mantas. Keep an eye out for a larger ray with a more T-shaped white marking across its back. ## **How to Behave While Snorkeling with Mantas** My favourite thing about snorkeling with manta rays is that they tend to come back! Unlike many megafauna encounters, where the animal swims past in a flash, mantas often circle back around. If you see a manta ray glide past while snorkeling, be patient—it will most likely return. This means encounters can sometimes last for hours. ![Aerial view of snorkelers floating in turquoise sea with fins and snorkels, forming a group. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/493920664_1256288063163340_2482102837997390088_n-1024x683.jpg) With this in mind, here is how to have a successful manta ray interaction: - Enter the water calmly, making as little splash and noise as possible (think graceful, like a manta ray!). - Even if you see the manta swimming away, do not chase after it. Instead, calmly swim in its direction or remain relatively still at the surface, allowing it to acclimatise to your presence. - If the manta is cleaning or feeding, it will often circle back after a short while. - Remain at the surface at the beginning of the encounter so you do not appear threatening. - If the mantas seem relaxed and begin swimming towards you or checking you out, feel free to dive down, always keeping a respectful distance and never touching the animals. - Chasing manta rays will almost always result in the animal swimming away. [Manta rays are intelligent, sentient animals.](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/12/16/the-mystery-of-animal-intelligence/) If they are feeling curious, they will often approach you. Lucky snorkelers are sometimes treated to incredibly close encounters as mantas glide gracefully past. ## **Finally, Are Manta Rays Dangerous?** No! Manta rays are often confused with stingrays, which are also generally placid animals and only use their barb in self-defence when absolutely necessary. Manta rays do not have venom, nor do they possess a barb on their tail. Their primary defence strategy is simply to swim away. Although they can appear intimidating due to their enormous size, manta rays are among the most peaceful animals you can encounter in the ocean. Swimming with mantas is an unforgettable experience that will leave you feeling both blissful and in awe. ![Aerial view of a tropical island with palm trees, thatched huts on stilts, a sandy beach, and clear turquoise water | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/494740850_1256287899830023_9178944656029993128_n-1024x683.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, Best places to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, manta rays, Manta rays snorkeling, snorkel raja ampat, Snorkel Venture, Snorkeling Maldives, snorkeling Palau, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Shallow Water Freediving - 5 Simple Ways to Improve Your Time Underwater ](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/07/21/shallow-water-freediving-5-simple-ways-to-improve-your-time-underwater/) **Published:** July 21, 2026 **Author:** Asha Michibata **Content:** Freediving isn’t about forcing yourself to stay down longer. It’s really about learning how to relax enough that your body *lets* you stay down longer. Especially in shallow water, where depth isn’t the challenge, everything comes back to your breath, your mindset, and how efficiently you move. If you’re new to freediving or you just want to feel calmer and more comfortable underwater here are five simple things that genuinely make a difference to your bottom time (without pushing or stressing your body). 1. ## **Start With Your Breath** **Your dive actually starts *before* you get in the water.** One of the biggest beginner mistakes I see is trying to “breathe better” by doing too much. Pre-dive breathing isn’t about getting more oxygen, it’s about calming your nervous system. Keep it simple: - Slow nasal breathing - Longer, softer exhales - Relax your jaw, tongue, shoulders, and hands - If your breath feels quiet and easy, you’re doing it right. A calm breath tells your body there’s no rush and that’s what helps you stay underwater longer. ![People wearing wetsuits and snorkeling gear in a curved pool on a wooden deck with palm trees and the sea in the background, suggesting a snorkeling session by the beach. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1070932-2-1024x682.jpg)Guests learning breathing and relaxation techniques during one of our shallow water freediving trips to Belize 2. ## **Soften Your Body** Before you dive, do a quick body check: - Are your shoulders creeping up? - Is your jaw clenched? - Are your hands tight for no reason? - Let everything soften, especially your face. A relaxed face usually means a relaxed body. Once you’re underwater, think *slow*, not strong. Every extra movement uses oxygen. - Freediving rewards softness way more than effort. 3. ## **Stay Long & Streamlined** Good positioning means less drag, less effort, and more time underwater. A few reminders: - Keep your body long and neutral. - Head in line with your spine. - Avoid lifting your head or bending at the waist. - Let your buoyancy help you, not fight you. - In shallow water, efficiency matters even more because you don’t have depth helping you glide. ![Diver snorkeling or free-diving vertically beside a large coral reef with many small fish in clear blue water; snorkelventure logo visible in top right. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1071705-2-1024x682.jpg) 4. ## **Keep Kicks Small** Big, fast kicks feel powerful but they burn oxygen fast. Instead, focus on: Small, controlled fin strokes. Movement starting from the hips, not the knees. Smooth, steady rhythm. Think of your fins as extensions of your legs, not something you use to push against the water. When finning feels effortless, your dive time naturally improves. ![Two snorkelers swim above a vibrant coral reef in clear blue water, wearing fins and snorkels. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1050864-1024x682.jpg) 5. ## **Dive With Curiosity** Instead of counting seconds or worrying about how long you *should* stay down, try shifting into curiosity: - Notice the light - Feel the weightlessness - Stay present - When you stop chasing time, time often increases on its own. Freediving is personal. Some of your best dives happen when you let go of expectations and just enjoy being underwater. **Staying underwater longer isn’t about pushing limits. It’s about relaxing, moving efficiently, and trusting your body.** Shallow water freediving is such a beautiful space to practice this. The calmer you are above the water, the longer and more enjoyable your dives will be below it. **Categories:** Tips & Advice **Tags:** freediving, how to snorkel, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, Tips --- ### [An Introduction to Coral](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/04/an-introduction-to-coral/) **Published:** August 4, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** As you snorkel over a coral reef you see thousands of living organisms. Sponges, sea squirts, anemones, soft corals, hard corals, crinoids, algae. The list is endless. Each wacky life form begs the question, what are you? Animal or plant? Individual or a group? What do you eat? How do you reproduce? When it comes to coral, the answers are truly mind boggling. ![Colorful coral reef teeming with small fish in clear tropical water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Coral-like-organisms-on-the-reef--1024x682.jpg) ## So What is Coral? At first glance corals look like plants but they are, in fact, animals. Most of the corals we see on a reef consist of hundreds, often thousands, of coral polyps that together form a coral colony. The individual polyp is often microscopic, but if we zoom in close we can see that polyps resemble tiny upside-down jellyfish. A coral polyp has a central cavity (its mouth) surrounded by tentacles, which it uses to capture plankton drifting through the water. So how can such small animals, feeding on even smaller prey, build habitats visible from space? Millions of years ago, corals formed an extraordinary alliance, a friendship as I like to think of it, with a microscopic, plant-like organism called a zooxanthellae. Zooxanthellae are photosynthetic cells that live in coral tissue. They have a symbiotic relationship. Corals provide the zooxanthellae with a safe place to live, and in turn the zooxanthellae photosynthesizes, producing energy that fuels the corals growth and reproduction. Hard corals use this energy to make calcium carbonate, which is the stony outer structure that coral polyps live in and which forms the foundation of coral reefs. This vital step in coral evolution is how minute coral polyps have built reefs the size of countries. ![Close-up of coral polyps with symbiotic algae inside their tentacles; yellow labels read 'Coral polyp tentacle' and 'Symbiotic algae'. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/ChatGPT-Image-Dec-23-2025-at-02_38_05-PM-1024x683.jpg)**The green speckles are the symbiotic zooxanthellae in the coral polyp tissue.**However, not all corals are reef builders. Some are soft, lacking a hard calcium carbonate skeleton. Others prefer a solitary life, with no zooxanthellae in their tissues and thus no requirement for sunlight, they can grow in deeper, darker water.## **Coral Color and What It Tells Us** As well as providing corals with their primary food source, zooxanthellae are responsible for giving coral its signature spectrum of dazzling colors. The symbiotic algae in the coral tissue expresses certain pigments that vary from neutral tones of browns and greens, to bright blues and purples. The color of a coral can be a useful indicator of its health, if interpreted correctly. Like all animals, corals require specific environmental conditions to thrive. Water temperature, clarity, salinity and acidity can all impact coral health. When conditions stay outside the healthy range for too long corals become stressed and react by expelling their symbiotic algae. This process, known as coral bleaching, leaves the coral deprived of its main food source and colour. The coral appears bright white. In a bleached state, the coral is still alive, but very weak. If harsh conditions persist the polyps eventually die, leaving behind only the bare stony structure. The good news? If conditions return within their healthy range corals can recover from a bleaching event. They can welcome back algae into their tissues, restoring both their color and their health. **The Images below show the same patch of reef bleaching and recovering as temperature fluctuates.** [ ![Underwater shot of a vibrant coral reef with a large '2014' text overlay in white. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2014-Bleaching-720x480.jpg) 2014 Bleaching ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2014-Bleaching.jpg "2014 Bleaching") [ ![Underwater coral reef scene with vibrant corals and a bold white '2015' text overlay. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2015-Bleaching-720x480.jpg) 2015 Bleaching ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2015-Bleaching.jpg "2015 Bleaching") [ ![Underwater panorama of a vibrant coral reef with layered plate corals and clear blue water, overlaid by the year 2016 in white text. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2016-Bleaching-720x480.jpg) 2016 Bleaching ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/2016-Bleaching.jpg "2016 Bleaching") ## The Future of Coral Reefs The biggest threat to shallow-water corals is rising ocean temperature. On top of that, local stresses like wastewater runoff, severe storms, and overfishing make survival even harder. Yet research shows that corals can adapt to changing conditions if we give them the time and support they need. That means combining local conservation with global efforts to reduce carbon emissions. As snorkelers, we know there are still vast stretches of thriving reef worth protecting. Fortunately, the global coral community is constantly developing innovative strategies to restore and preserve these ecosystems. ## **Coral Planting** Although corals are animals, you can grow them much like plants! Coral planting is a widely used conservation method, and the process is wonderfully simple: - **Step 1: Harvest a fragment. This can be a loose, living fragment that has come loose from the reef or a small piece intentionally taken from a healthy colony. - **Step 2: Nurture the fragment. Fragments are attached to nursery structures either in the ocean or in aquariums where they can grow in stable, protected conditions. - Coral nursery - **Step 3: Outplant the fragment. Once healthy and strong, the fragment is attached to damaged areas of the reef, where it can grow into a new colony and help restore the ecosystem. [ ![Underwater coral restoration setup: a grid supporting numerous small coral fragments anchored to the sea floor, with devices and weights on stilts in clear blue water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Coral-nursery-frame-720x480.jpeg) Coral nursery frame ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Coral-nursery-frame.jpeg "Coral nursery frame") [ ![Close-up of a beige coral colony growing from a rocky reef, with small bulbous polyps extending outward from the surface. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Planted-coral-fragment-720x480.jpeg) Planted coral fragment ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Planted-coral-fragment.jpeg "Planted coral fragment") Coral planting can be highly effective and has helped reefs recover after major disturbances like cyclones and mass bleaching. But planting alone isn’t enough, we must consider the bigger picture. ## **A Global Effort** Coral conservation requires collective action. Organizations globally are collaborating with coastal communities to advance sustainable practices, including promoting sustainable fishing, minimizing pollution, and controlling sedimentation. Simultaneously, others are leading the way in developing renewable energy solutions, reinforcing the growing momentum toward cleaner energy worldwide. **Corals powerfully demonstrate that even small, individual actions collectively lead to massive outcomes. The monumental scale of a coral reef, built by countless tiny polyps, mirrors the collective effort needed for its conservation. It takes millions of polyps to build a reef, just as it takes millions of people to preserve it!** **Categories:** Conservation, Marine Life **Tags:** conservation, coral, coral reef, snorkel --- ### [A Starter Guide to Indonesian Reef Fish ID](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/07/08/a-starter-guide-to-indonesian-reef-fish-id/) **Published:** July 8, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** One of the best things about snorkeling is the endless sense of discovery. Just when you think you’ve seen it all, you come across a fish that’s been there all along, you just never noticed it until today. Then, suddenly, you start spotting it on every snorkel. Fish identification is never ending! And if you ever feel like the more you snorkel, the less you know, don’t be discouraged. Fish are the most diverse group of vertebrates on the planet, so there’s always a new name to learn. To help sharpen your fish ID skills, I’m going to introduce you to the four most common families of Indonesian reef fish, explain how to identify them, and sprinkle in a few fun fish facts along the way, because who doesn’t love those? ## **Damselfish** On my most recent tour, I had the pleasure of introducing a guest to the damselfish family. Once you start noticing them, it’s mind-boggling just how many different species there are. In fact, one could argue that without damselfish, the reef would lose a lot of its sparkle. Damselfish are often called the “confetti fish” because they burst out from coral heads like fish-fetti! If approached, they seem to move as one, ducking back into the coral for shelter in a perfectly synchronized flash. These coordinated movements are like underwater fireworks and will leave you mesmerized. ![Dense school of blue damselfish swimming over a coral reef. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1007429-1024x682.jpg)Blue-green damsel fish (Chromis viridis)If you’ve ever snorkeled over a tropical reef, I can almost guarantee you’ve seen a damselfish. They are one of the most common reef fish and can be identified by their oval-shaped, laterally flattened bodies, forked tails, and are almost always found in groups. Most damselfish are between 2 and 15 cm long, although some species can grow up to 30 cm. Color isn’t the best way to identify them, as they come in every color in and out of the rainbow. Instead, look for their body shape and behavior. One of the most commonly seen damselfish is the blue-green chromis (*Chromis viridis*). These dazzling, electric blue-green fish hover in large groups above branching corals in the shallow reefs. Other common species in the damsel family, are sergeant majors and all anemone fish including the famous clown fish. ![Underwater scene with a large school of striped yellow-and-black fish and other tropical fish around submerged poles in turquoise water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/NSRATripReport-11-1024x768.jpg)Sergeant major fish (Abudefduf vaigiensis)![Orange clownfish with a bright blue stripe near its face swimming among pale coral strands in a reef. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1073734-1024x682.jpg)White bonnet anemone fish (Amphiprion leucokranos)If you get caught up watching their hypnotic movements and drift a little too close, don’t be surprised if a tiny damselfish suddenly darts straight at your mask! It’s their way of telling you that you’ve entered their territory, and despite their small size, they’ll do their very best to scare you away. Damselfish are also surprisingly noisy. They communicate by making pops, clicks, and crackling sounds, using them to defend their territory and interact with one another. Perhaps the coolest behavior of all is that some species are underwater gardeners. They carefully cultivate patches of algae by removing unwanted species and encouraging the growth of the ones they prefer to eat. As if tending to their garden, they graze, weed and fiercely protect their algae farm from invaders. ## **Wrasse** Okay, so wrasse are a tricky one. I like to say, “If in doubt, it’s probably a wrasse” These fish come in an huge variety of shapes, sizes, and colors, from the tiny cleaner wrasse to the giant Napoleon wrasse. With over 600 known species, they are one of the most diverse families of reef fish around. Fortunately, there are a few simple clues that can help you identify them. Unlike many fish that propel themselves by sweeping their whole body from side to side, wrasse do most of their swimming with their pectoral fins (the fins on either side of their body). They “row” through the water with these fins, only using their tail for quick bursts of speed when they need to make a fast getaway. Another telltale feature is their long, continuous dorsal fin, which runs almost the entire length of their back, from just behind the head to the base of the tail. Once you learn to spot these characteristics, you’ll be surprised by just how many wrasse you start noticing on your snorkels. ![A tropical reef fish with a striped, speckled body swimming among coral formations. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/WhatsApp-Image-2026-07-06-at-17-1024x631.jpg)Female Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus)![Blue-green parrotfish swimming in deep blue ocean, showing intricate scale patterns and a rounded snout. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Napoleon-Wrass-1024x683.jpg)Male Napoleon wrasse (Cheilinus undulatus)A very fascinating wrasse fact is that most species are protogynous, meaning they’re all born female and as they mature, some undergo hormonal changes that transform them into males. One of the most dramatic examples is the humphead Napoleon wrasse. As a female changes into a male, she undergoes an incredible transformation. The fish grows much larger, develops the iconic hump on its forehead which he uses to battle other males and win the attention of the females. ## Butterflyfish Butterflyfish are probably one of the easiest reef fish families to identify because, unlike many others, their color and body shape are actually reliable clues. Most species are a combination of yellow, white, and black, with a distinctive black band running through the eye. This clever marking helps disguise the location of their eye, making it more difficult for predators to target them. Many species also have a dark spot on the rear of their body that acts as a false eye, confusing predators about which direction they’re swimming. Butterflyfish are typically round bodied and laterally flattened, with a pointed snout perfectly adapted for sucking up coral polyps and other small invertebrates from the reef. ![Underwater coral reef with a school of orange-and-white striped fish among vibrant corals. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1051329-1024x682.jpg)Pyramid butterflyfish (Hemitaurichthys polylepis)One of the fun things about butterflyfish is that you can often guess their name from their markings. Take my favorite, the teardrop butterflyfish, which has a distinctive teardrop-shaped marking on its side. Or the pyramid butterflyfish, which you’ll often see gliding over Indonesian reefs in schools of hundreds. Whichever of the more than 50 species you encounter in Indonesia, butterflyfish are guaranteed to be among the most elegant and eye-catching fish on the reef. What makes these fish even more lovable is that they mate for life. If you watch them as they swim across the reef, you’ll notice they work as a team. While one fish lowers its guard to feed on coral polyps, the other stays alert, keeping watch for potential predators. Then they swap roles, working as a team, taking turns to feed and stand watch. How adorable! ## **Parrotfish** Parrotfish are a trademark fish of tropical reefs, easily recognized by their bright blue colors and distinctive beak-like mouths with white teeth. However, there are many species of parrotfish, and they are not always brightly colored. In fact, 39 species are found on Indonesian reefs, all playing an important role in reef health. Most parrotfish are herbivores, feeding on algae that grows across the reef. This is vital for reef health. As they scrape away algae, they expose clean rock where new coral larvae can settle and grow. Without this grazing, reefs would quickly become dominated by algae instead of coral. Thank you, parrotfish! ![School of green-blue parrotfish swimming above a coral reef. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1053138-1024x682.jpg)Bridled parrotfish (Scarus frenatus)Color alone is not a reliable way to identify them, as juveniles and females are often dull brown or red, while males are often multicolored and vibrant. Instead, look for their beak-like mouths and their swimming style, like wrasse, they use their pectoral fins in a flying motion to swim. If you hear scraping sounds while snorkeling, a parrotfish is likely nearby feeding. One of the most impressive species is the humphead parrotfish, often seen in groups munching their way across the reef. Once you spot them, it wont be for long as they often disappear behind a cloud of sandy poop. This sand is produced as they grind up limestone while feeding on algae and excrete it. A single humphead parrotfish can produce up to 200 pounds of sand per year! ![School of green parrotfish swimming underwater in blue ocean above a coral reef. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1051721-2-1024x683.jpg)Humphead parrotfish (Bolbometopon muricatum)## **Final Thoughts** When identifying fish, focus on shape, size, and behavior rather than color, as many species change color throughout their lives and even throughout a singe day. After learning your damselfish, wrasse, butterflyfish and parrotfish, look out for surgeonfish, groupers, and gobies too! **Categories:** Marine Life, Tips & Advice **Tags:** coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, Snorkel Indonesia, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Inside Snorkel Venture: Catching Up with the Travel Team](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/07/11/inside-snorkel-venture-catching-up-with-the-travel-team/) **Published:** July 11, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** If you’ve ever booked — or even just dreamed about — a Snorkel Venture tour, chances are you’ve already crossed paths with one of our travel experts: Bernita, Crystal, Graham, or Kelly. They’re the people behind the scenes bringing each journey to life, overseeing everything from the moment a tour is conceived to the final details before our travelers meet their tour leader at the destination. Let’s catch up with the Snorkel Venture travel team and take a look at where their adventures have taken them in 2025. **Bernita in the Dominican Republic** I was fortunate enough to tick off a bucket list trip in early 2025… a trip to the Dominican Republic to [snorkel with the humpback whales](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/12/05/the-comeback-of-the-humpback-whale/) that go there to breed and/birth their babies. The trip was liveaboard based. The Silverbank, the Marine Mammal Sanctuary where the humpbacks can be seen, is 80 nautical miles from Puerto Plata. Only 3 boats have permits to enter the sanctuary, each carrying up to 20 guests, so I felt very privileged to be there. The encounters are regulated to protect the humpbacks; much of the day is spent on the small tender boats looking for whales. They can be seen spy hopping, breaching, tail lobbing and sleeping. We also saw groups of males chasing females trying to mate or fighting amongst themselves. ![Whales swimming underwater just below the sunlit ocean surface in clear blue water, forming a pod. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1005069-1024x682.jpg) The area is a shallow underwater plateau with coral formations coming up to the surface, but the trip is not about the coral and no time is spent snorkeling around the coral heads, unless there is a whale there to see. When we find a whale/whales that are slow moving or sleeping, we quietly enter the water and watch them. The moms are mostly relaxed and the babies are quite curious. The sleeping whales come up to breathe every 12 to 20 minutes and come very close to investigate the snorkelers. It’s incredible. The trip is quite difficult in that the crossing to and from the sanctuary is often very rough and takes 9 – 12 hours. I recommend taking precautions for sea sickness. The days are spent on small tender boats, in varying conditions. While some of the area is very protected, the outer areas can be windy and choppy and the group can spend 2 to 6 hours at a time out on the tenders. People with back problems may find this uncomfortable. The days consist of long periods of looking for suitable whales to engage with, watching others breaching in the near and far distance and observing various behaviours. The group gets into the water a few to several times a day for anywhere from 1 minute (if the whales move away) to and hour (if they’re relaxed and happy) so there is a lot of getting into and out of the water. ![Underwater scene of a large whale swimming beside a diver in a bright wetsuit. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1005307-2-1024x682.jpg) All this is absolutely worth it for the time spent in the water with these magical mammals, often heard singing their melodic songs. This was one of my favourite marine experiences. **Crystal’s Trip to North Sulawesi & Raja Ampat** My most recent trip was to [North Sulawesi & Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-safari-2025/), assisting one of our tour leaders, Dalton in October 2025. This was my first time joining this tour, and I was extremely impressed by both the resorts and the snorkeling. Our first resort, [Siladen](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/north-indonesia-snorkeling-safari/), offered a wonderfully warm welcome from Anna, Gabriel, and their team. Thoughtful personal touches, including welcome notes and a beautiful beachfront dinner, immediately set the tone for a very personalised stay. Entering the water was a true “wow” moment, vibrant corals, abundant fish life, and the use of underwater fish ID slates made the experience even more engaging, with guests eagerly discussing their sightings throughout the day. ![Aerial view of a curved sandy beach with turquoise water, bordered by dense green trees and a circular blue pool at the bottom-right, with a resort sign nearby reading 'Shiden Resort & Spa'. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/DJI_20250422171411_0049_D-1024x683.jpg) Our second resort was [Papua Explorers](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/), and the arrival alone is unforgettable, without giving anything away, they make it incredibly special and memorable. From the very start, it’s clear you’re in the hands of a wonderful, fun, and welcoming team. Stepping into the overwater bungalows is another unforgettable moment; this resort truly is something special. The restaurant overlooks the [house reef,](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/12/featured-house-reef-papua-explorers/) where you can often spot blacktip reef sharks, lionfish, and stingrays in the shallows. If you’re lucky, you may even see a cuscus or tropical birds on the walk back to your bungalow. Snorkeling sites are just 10 – 20 minutes away along the Dampier Strait, and the house reef is accessible at any time of which I took full advantage of and snorkeled there every day. I cannot finish this report without mentioning the guests! Each time I finish a tour, the hardest part is saying goodbye to another wonderful group. They came from the US, Canada, and the UK, we met as strangers, and by the end of the trip we had become friends. Thanks to the WhatsApp group, we’ve been able to keep in touch and share photos and videos from the tour. This group truly made the trip extra special! ![Group of snorkelers on a small boat smiling and giving thumbs up, wearing masks and wetsuits with bright turquoise water and mangrove backdrop behind them. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Crystal-photo-1024x771.jpg) **Graham in Palau** In all honesty, I hadn’t given much thought to [Palau](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-snorkeling-liveaboard-safari/) until Ben suggested it might be a good choice for my annual SV trip. I am so glad he did. It is by far, one of the best destinations I have ever visited. As soon as we landed I felt welcome, relaxed and at home! The whole place oozes island vibes and reminded me a little of Hawaii. The snorkeling was incredible and rivals most places I have been in Indonesia! ![Smiling man with gray beard on a boat deck, wearing a blue shirt and gray shorts, barefoot, leaning on a white railing with turquoise water and forested hills behind. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Graham-Photo-768x1024.jpeg) In among 445 limestone islands, islets and reefs we had our pick of shallow perfect snorkeling sites. We were spoilt for choice of soft coral gardens, walls and drop offs, feeding stations and seagrass meadows. Incredibly varied and absolutely beautiful! Add to this the incredible history (especially war history) and various occupancies and you have a truly stunning and fascinating destination. ![Aerial view of a white boat with passengers sailing over deep blue water near a turquoise coral reef edge. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/DJI_20250312074524_0118_D-1024x683.jpg) We’ve changed this itinerary to 2 weeks of liveaboard, so this really is for someone who enjoys boat life now. If you love vibrant, colourful snorkeling with myriads of fish, the chance to see Mantas feeding or cleaning, sharks and bigger species, dugongs and grass beds, tropical islands with pure white beaches and true island vibes then THIS is the place and the trip for you! **Kelly at Papua Explorers Resort** Snorkeling at Papua Explorers Resort, located on the island of Gam in [Raja Ampat,](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) was an unforgettable experience that blended vibrant marine life, pristine coral gardens, and calm turquoise waters. ![Woman in a dark blue dress stands on a wooden viewing deck, with turquoise water, green islands, and a blue sky behind her. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Kelly-Photo-1024x768.jpeg) The resort sits within one of the most biodiverse marine regions on earth, offering direct access to thriving reefs just steps from the overwater bungalows. And if you suffer from jet lag or are inclined to rise early you can experience some beautiful sunrises! The staff are great and very friendly, they will point out anything of interest they spot on your snorkels and are on hand to help when needed. The resort itself is very relaxed and has a bare-foot vibe about it. The food is very good, though the choices may be a little limited for some, usually consisting of two choices each of protein and carbohydrate, a vegetable dish and a small salad buffet. They have certain theme nights for meals too such as BBQ night and burger night. It was also a nice surprise one night to have a dance/song performance by the local village children. The house reef alone teems with c[olourful parrotfish, angelfish, lionfish and swaying anemones.](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/07/08/a-starter-guide-to-indonesian-reef-fish-id/) I was also lucky enough on a night snorkel to see a giant lobster and a walking shark. Nearby snorkel sites such as Cape Kri, Citrus Grove, and Manta Ridge reveal encounters with schooling fish, reef sharks and graceful [manta rays](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/06/12/where-to-snorkel-with-manta-rays/). The clear, warm waters and excellent visibility make exploring effortless and hugely rewarding. Snorkeling in the Mangroves is another unique experience I had where the patterns of light create something particularly atmospheric. ![Person snorkeling in clear turquoise water near a row of thatched-roof overwater huts along a beach with palm trees behind them. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/DJI_20250501170124_0137_D-1024x683.jpg) ![Sea turtle gliding over a vibrant coral reef in clear turquoise water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/P1008187-1-1024x682.jpg) I think Papua Explorers is most suited to anyone – nature lovers, underwater photographers, adventurous travellers seeking an immersive yet tranquil marine getaway. With me at the resort were couples of all ages, families and honeymooners. Whether you’re a seasoned snorkeler or a curious beginner, the resort’s guided trips, calm bays, and rich marine ecosystems make every dip into the water feel like entering a living underwater gallery. **Categories:** Destinations, On Tour **Tags:** best place to snorkel, coral reef, destination, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, Snorkel Dominican Republic, Snorkel Humpback whales, snorkel palau, snorkel safari, Snorkel vacation, whales --- ### [Trip Report: Shallow Water Freediving Workshop](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/04/07/shallow-water-freediving-workshop-trip-report/) **Published:** April 7, 2026 **Author:** Emma Farrell **Content:** Hi everyone! I’m Emma, and I manage the [freediving program](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/free-dive-photo-workshops/) at Snorkel Venture. I’ve just got back from leading another unforgettable shallow water freediving workshop in Belize, and wanted to share with you all what happens on one of these trips, and how the skills you learn can improve your snorkeling experiences in the water. I’ve taught thousands of people to freedive over the course of the last twenty-five years, and some of the biggest myths I’ve come across are that freediving is all about ‘going deep’, holding your breath for a seemingly inhuman amount of time, and that it’s a pastime only suitable for the young and athletic. That may be what the TV and the internet tell us, but it couldn’t be further from the truth. Most life is in the top few feet of the ocean, and most people learn freediving skills in order to better see or photograph it. My most unforgettable freediving experiences have been at depths of less than twenty feet, and a typical dive is less than a minute in duration. I’ve taught Paralympians and non-athletes with severe physical challenges to freedive, and age is never a barrier! Annabel Briseno was a grandmother in her fifties when she started freediving, and she went on to break three world records. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1071659-copy-scaled.jpg) I developed the shallow water freediving program specifically for Snorkel Venture guests. It’s an opportunity for you to learn freediving skills at your own pace, with a focus on real-world snorkeling application, and there’s never any pressure (pun intended) to do anything. At the heart of my approach is that freediving is an individual journey, which you will discover is more about what’s going on in your head than in your body. My role is to support you and ensure you feel safe to explore just what you might be capable of, whether it’s feeling confident dipping a few feet below the surface to see an interesting critter, or diving deeper to play with a dolphin. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1072375-copy-scaled.jpg) So let’s dive right in (another pun…) and discover what happens on a typical day on a [Snorkel Venture shallow water freediving workshop](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/free-dive-photo-workshops/)! Turneffe Island Resort is a little slice of paradise, set within Turneffe Atoll, one of the crown jewels of the Belize Barrier Reef. The resort operates on ‘island time’, which is an hour ahead of the mainland, and this means the sun rises at a far more civilized time for a holiday. Just before seven, we meet on the boardwalk in front of the ocean, where nurse sharks cruise around in the shallows and the sky glows pink, ready for dawn. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DJI_0595-scaled.jpg) This is the first session of the day, and it is half an hour of ‘Breathing Optimization’, a program I created first for Olympic and Paralympic athletes, and then adapted for everyone. The exercises are designed to teach you how to breathe more efficiently, decrease stress, and promote relaxation and confidence. It’s the most magical way to start the day as you breathe in the warm sea air and listen to the sounds of water lapping, wind gently rustling the palm trees, and the calls of birds as the sun rises. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1071566-copy-scaled.jpg) We then go straight to breakfast, with all your favorite foods, as well as delicious specials each morning. And if you need a caffeine hit (or hot chocolate or herbal tea) before breathing optimization, you can place a hot drink order to be left outside your bedroom door each morning before you wake! After breakfast, we get ready for the first open water session of the day. Guests are divided into small groups depending on previous experience and/or whether they’re traveling together. On this trip, our groups were named Tarpon, Trevally, Turtle and Trumpet Fish. Each group takes it in turns to be in the water with me, and those guests not learning skills with me go out snorkeling with the phenomenal local guides and my truly awesome assistant, Asha (more of her later!). One of the many things I love about Belize is just how much there is to see from the surface. This means that the freediving buoy and line can be set on a patch of sand at a shallow depth, and you can also check out the terrain as you practice. My go-to spots for the training sessions are right by an incredible coral pinnacle with lobster and a resident moray eel, and another by an old shipwreck which is teeming with yellow snapper. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1071892-copy-scaled.jpg) Using the line, we take it in turns, slowly pulling down and practicing equalization. Most people assume that breath-hold ability is the limiting factor for progressing in freediving, but it’s actually equalization and relaxation. It took me an entire year to learn how to equalize headfirst, so I have lots of tricks to help anyone who also finds it challenging! By pulling down the line, you can control your descent and there’s far less to think about than if you started with a duck dive and finning. It’s an opportunity for me to discover a little bit more about how you tick, and start to refine your technique. As the workshop progresses, we then move on to duck diving, finning, and body position, teaching you how to maximize the time you spend underwater. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1072442-copy-scaled.jpg) You’ll be in buddy pairs, so you’ve always got an extra cheerleader in the water, and when you’re not in the water with me, your buddy can give you feedback on your technique now that they know what to look for. One of my best memories from this shallow water freediving workshop was towards the end of a dive session when I was with a lovely Canadian lady called Laura, who was buddied up with a super-cool dude from Hawaii named Batman. The other divers in our group had just got back on board the boat, so it was just the three of us in the water. Laura was a little nervous, so I was giving her a pep talk in my most soothing voice as she lay on the surface, breathing through her snorkel. I said, ‘You’ve got all the time in the world, Laura, so go when you feel ready. There’s no pressure, no one else waiting to go. It’s just you, me, and Batman…’ At which point, she cracked up laughing, then told me, ‘When I booked this holiday, I never thought I would ever hear those words!’ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1070854-copy-scaled.jpg) After the morning session in open water, I take a different group to the pool to practice breath-holding techniques, also known as ‘static apnea’. This is not about trying to hold your breath for as long as possible. It’s about learning the technique, practicing ‘relaxation breathing’ before the hold, ‘recovery breathing’ after it, and, most importantly, discovering what goes on inside your body and your mind when you are breath-holding. I like to say that freediving is ninety-nine percent mental, and the rest is in your head, and there is no better way to experience this than in the pool. And no matter what you think you can do, you will always surprise yourself! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1070960-copy-scaled.jpg) On the first couple of days on the island, after a tasty lunch, I’ll give a presentation about breathing for freediving and equalization techniques so that everyone has the knowledge to practice safely in their buddy pairs when they’re snorkeling with the guides. Then it’s time for the afternoon open water session, followed by another pool session for the two groups I haven’t yet had one-to-one time with. At 6 pm before dinner, there’s a happy hour where you can try some of the island’s delicious cocktails or a fresh coconut whilst you’re plied with freshly made snacks from the kitchen. It’s a chance to hang out, leaf through the fish identification books, and watch the sunset. On your first full day on the island, the Turneffe rangers come and give a talk about the atoll during this time, which is fascinating, and on most other nights, I’ll be giving a presentation on anything from equipment, to finning technique, to sinus massage and buoyancy. I’ll even bring my otoscope so I can look in people’s ears, show you how much fun you can have with a balloon, and introduce you to Freediving Barbie (aka Barbacuda the Shequalizer), who’s going to teach you how to do the perfect duck dive! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1072044-copy-scaled.jpg) After a spectacular dinner, it’s time for yoga nidra on the beach under the stars. Don’t think yoga is for you? Just wait until you experience the only form of yoga that’s done lying on a sun-bed mattress with your pillow and a blanket, and where you’re encouraged to fall asleep. Yoga nidra (literally ‘yogic sleep’) is a practice where you’re guided by the sound of my voice into a place of profound relaxation. I’ve been teaching it for decades and absolutely love it. It can be a tool for transformation, recovery, integration, or just a wonderful way to chill out! Not every day on the freediving workshop follows this pattern. Some days there will be an extra snorkeling/freediving training session with me in the morning instead of a pool session before lunch, and there’s also a complimentary night dive on offer, as well as the beach BBQ and hermit crab racing on Friday night. On Tuesday, there’s also a trip to the Great Blue Hole, Half Moon Caye Nature Reserve, and Long Caye. This is a fantastic day out with three snorkel sessions and lunch on Half Moon Caye, which is the home of the red-footed booby bird and magnificent frigate birds. My favorite thing to do is to follow the forest trail past industrious hermit crabs and huge termite mounds in the trees to the bird tower up in the canopy. It feels like you’re in the middle of a nature documentary, watching the fluffy white babies in their nests and the male frigate birds inflating their bright red throat pouches until it looks like they’ve got red balloons tucked under their beaks. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/DJI_0864-scaled.jpg) There are three snorkeling sessions on this day, and it’s the ideal place to spot a white-spotted toadfish (native to Belize), squid, and reef sharks. Long Caye Wall also holds a very special place in my heart, as it is where I saw my first ever octopus! Assisting me in running the freediving workshops is the amazing Asha, one of Snorkel Venture’s loveliest tour leaders. We make an unintentionally amusing double act, as I am six feet tall and she is about four feet ten… Asha is in the water with you when you’re not with me, helps out in the pool, takes fabulous pictures and videos, keeps me on track, and ensures the daily schedule is communicated accurately and efficiently to you all. And helping all of us are the outstanding Turneffe staff. Whether it’s accommodating your dietary preferences or most-loved drink (with a lime segment carved to look like a nudibranch), or putting poems on your pillow at night, they’re always there to make your holiday enjoyable and run smoothly. There are also kayaks, paddleboards, and Hobie Cats available if you want more activity, and a spa if you’d rather not… The dive guides also get a special mention for their encyclopedic knowledge and ninja-level fish-spotting skills, ensuring that everyone gets to see that scorpionfish that is almost indistinguishable from a rock, or pointing out a southern stingray partially hidden in the sand. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1071409-copy-scaled.jpg) One of the many benefits of the atoll location is that, no matter the prevailing wind, it’s always possible to find a sheltered spot. The area is also home to spotted eagle rays, a huge variety of reef fish (including my top picks, the juvenile spotted drum fish and the juvenile yellow-tailed damselfish), manatees, and dolphins, which guests were lucky enough to snorkel with. You might also get a chance to meet Stevie, a shy crocodile who likes to sun herself as we head out to one of the multiple snorkel sites around Turneffe. Everyone comes into a shallow water freediving workshop at a different level, and everyone’s journey is their own. Some guests have never taken their snorkel out of their mouth before, and some are comfortable duck diving down a few feet. The teaching groups are small and the program is completely individualized, so you can go at your own pace. Everything I teach is about helping you feel more comfortable, more capable, and more relaxed in the water. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1072502-copy-scaled.jpg) We pack a lot into the workshop, but everything is optional, and the most important thing is that you enjoy yourself. Freediving truly is for everyone, and for many guests, this workshop is just the beginning. They come back year after year to consolidate their skills, build their confidence, and keep learning from me. And the learning doesn’t stop when we say our goodbyes! I’ve also created a resource package for you to peruse after your workshop. This includes free yoga nidra recordings and breathing optimization class recordings, freediving course manuals and equalization resources, as well as freediving kit recommendations and more. And of course, I’m always on hand via our WhatsApp group or email to answer any freediving-related questions! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1070872-copy-scaled.jpg) I hope this has given you a taste of what a Snorkel Venture shallow water [freediving workshop](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/free-dive-photo-workshops/) is all about and shown how much you could get out of the experience. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you have any questions, and I can’t wait to see you in the water soon! Don’t miss out on our upcoming [Indonesia Freediving Workshop](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-island-shallow-freediving-workshop/) taking place in the fabulous Siladen Island Resort and Coral Eye Resort in North Sulawesi! **Categories:** Trip Reports **Tags:** best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, freediving, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, reef, Snorkel Indonesia, Snorkel vacation, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Trip Report: Egypt Snorkel Safari 2026 - Stars, Reefs & Culture](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/06/17/trip-report-egypt-snorkel-safari-2026/) **Published:** June 17, 2026 **Author:** Paul Duxfield **Content:** **“Yes! wonderful things”** This was what Howard Carter famously said to Lord Carnarvon whilst peering into a dusty and ancient antechamber illuminated by just a single candle, and not looked upon by human eyes for over 3000 years. It was full of treasures from the tomb of Tutankhamen and is arguably the most significant archeological find in recent times. And all of us on my latest Snorkel Venture tour to Egypt were treated to viewing these wonderful things on our visit to the brand new Grand Egyptian Museum laid out in what is the largest museum in the world. The sheer scale of this astonishing feat of modern engineering designed to display and make accessible those treasures found by Howard Carter and others after him is simply breathtaking.. It’s so well done and whilst massive it’s quite easy to navigate especially with the aid of our Egyptologist Amira who took us on a curated selection of the most famous exhibits. We were there only half a day, and it’s not enough, but for our group of travel weary Americans and a fellow Brit it was just enough to savor this incredible place and whet our appetites for a future visit. ![Gold and blue Tutankhamun mask on display with striped headdress and a cobra ornament atop; ancient Egyptian artifact collection visible nearby. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DuxySV-0212-735x1024.jpg) The day before which was the official start day of our [Red Sea Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-eclipse-snorkel-tour/) tour we visited the pyramids and in keeping with the GEM they’ve revamped the accessibility and made the whole process more organized with hop on hop off air conditioned tour buses which get you around the sites major landmarks including of course the Sphinx which was the last stop on our tour. As the majority of our SV guests travel in from the States via Cairo then it would be a terrible shame to not visit these wonders of the world, and so when the flights and itinerary allow we kick off our trips to Egypt by visiting these special locations. ![Camel lying beside a stone wall with a pyramid in the desert and a blue sky behind. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DuxySV-9819-1024x768.jpg) **Onwards and Upwards** After a couple of days in Cairo which like most big cities is full of chaotic hustle and bustle, we were glad to be flying out on a short hop to the Red Sea coastline around Marsa Alam, [Red Sea Diving Safaris](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-eclipse-snorkel-tour/) dedicated snorkeling and diving resort positioned around a sprawling house reef running to the north and south hundreds of meters in length. This place is famous in the area for not allowing rampant tourism to overtake it and impact the reef, and our travelers didn’t waste any time after their introductory briefing to hit the water. There’d been a bit of wind in the previous days so the close in house reef was slightly affected by untypically poor viz for the Red Sea, but once I took the guys on a trip to the further reaches of the house reef that famous Red Sea visibility was back and all the usual suspects of Sgt Majors, Surgeon Fish, Morays and Crocodile Fish were viewed in abundance. ![Underwater reef scene with a school of striped fish around rusted pillars and a submerged staircase, advertising a snorkel adventure. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DuxySV-5184540-1024x733.jpg) Oh, and turtles there’s aways turtles. **Lets have a day out…** I visit Marsa Shagra and it’s sister locations a lot and one of the best things apart from the unlimited house reef snorkelling is the excursions further afield, usually by a zodiac if the journey is within 25mins or by minivan if over this. Our first journey away from the resort was by zodiac to look for a ‘mythical creature’ otherwise known as a Dugong and we had Anja our Swiss guide who was the current in form whisperer for these big beasts. They’re loosely related to Manatees and are their sea water cousins, they live on a diet of sea grass which they graze consuming around 50kg daily to maintain their impressive size. ![Manatee swimming underwater in blue ocean, side view of its rounded body and flippers | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_9394-1024x740.jpg) When we arrived at a likely spot, it was only a minute or two before the skipper spotted the almost imperceptible signs on the featureless water surface, but Anja slipped overboard and there we were right on top of one, munching away on what has got to be a very boring diet. The guests followed quickly and despite its size it moved pretty quickly to a more bountiful spot, so all aboard for another drop off and all got to see the unlikely looking creature. I didn’t get a shot this time but I’ll put up some pics from a previous encounter to give you an idea. The day didn’t end there, though. After our exciting meeting with the ‘mythical creature’—a name I’ve given it because for a very long time I simply didn’t see one, and because I’m always reluctant to tempt fate by guaranteeing a sighting—it was time to move on. After all, this is nature we’re dealing with, not Disneyland. Before long, we found ourselves in nearby Abu Dabbab Bay, where beautiful reefs fringe another vast seagrass meadow. These underwater grazing grounds are home to some truly enormous Green Sea Turtles, which can often be found peacefully munching their way through the seagrass as if they own the place. ![Close-up of a sea turtle swimming underwater toward the camera over a sandy ocean floor, with a snorkelventure logo in the upper right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DuxySV-2-1024x604.jpg) **Starry Starry Night** That very same night as there was just a sliver of a new moon we decided to take our evening tour into the nearby desert where Mohsen our guide who’s nickname is Star, introduced us to his Bedouin family at their weekend retreat.On the way there we passed by a working well, which dates back to Roman times, and came across a small herd of Camel belonging to his family, they have freedom to roam the valley so it was a rare treat to see them, take pics and get close. When we got settled in camp, Star made us traditional Bedouin coffee and Karkhadi which is made from Hibiscus Flowers. We then had a barbecue meal as the sun set under a sky quickly darkening but dotted with stars. After the meal, Star took us to his observatory on a nearby hill where we looked trough his telescope at the [moon,](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-eclipse-snorkel-tour/) planets and stars interspersed with his knowledge of the heavens both relating to Bedouin navigation and also the latest astronomical findings. ![Man in a white shirt using a telescope at night under a starry sky. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IMG_5155-1024x768.jpeg) ![Group of people dining at a long outdoor table in a rocky crater at night, with colorful tablecloths and a bright lamp in front. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DuxySV-0465-1024x822.jpg) **All at sea** After a week that flew by too quickly the second part of our Red Sea adventure beckoned and we took a short trip to nearby Port Ghalib where we boarded our luxury Liveaboard Turquoise also known as Red Sea Aggressor IV. Everyone seemed very impressed with her, she’s a pretty and spacious boat, which was great as she was to be our home for the next week. After settling in for a night in port some opted to have a wander about the souvenir shops and markets here to grab some last minute stuff, as we were due to head south early the next morning for our eventual southernmost destination of St Johns not to far from the Sudanese border famed for its hard coral off shore reef systems and remoteness. **Dolphins!!!** The skipper opted to break our southern trip into two big journeys so as not to be doing too much traveling at night and so our first stop was the very popular Sataya Reef. Popular because of the resident pods of Spinner Dolphins, they shelter inside this 3 mile long reef after hunting outside in the early hours. The dolphins are famous for interacting closely and enthusiastically with the humans that come to say hello. We weren’t disappointed as our first snorkel here we had a very good encounter with the Spinners, cavorting madly and seemingly getting more excited the more we got excited, it was breathtaking to be honest and such a treat to be so up close and personal with these engaging wild animals. ![Three dolphins glide underwater in clear blue water near a coral reef with a Snorkelventure logo in the top right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DuxySV-5250463-1024x616.jpg) **Bring on the Clowns** We still had more journeying to do though and after a late afternoon snorkel at South Sataya we headed off towards Paradise our next early morning destination for the first snorkel of the day. However it was very windy and we feared that we may not be able to get in but our wily skipper had positioned the boat such that we were actually more sheltered than it initially appeared, and so we were rewarded with a glorious snorkel in coral canyons in spectacular visibility. Definitely worth getting in and proof that you never can really tell, so despite it being a bit choppy, once you got your head down everything got calmer and colorful. The end of the snorkel there’s a little inlet with some very big Anemones in a vibrant red with a colony of[ Clown Fish](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/12/29/anemone-fish/) in a contrasting yellow, a perfect photo subject, but quite a challenge on a single breath, I’ve dived this spot quite a lot and so was very pleased that I was up to the task of getting a decent result on just one breath. ![Underwater coral reef with bright anemones and a vivid orange-yellow clownfish among the coral. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DuxySV-5260729-1024x768.jpg) **Quick Turnaround** Once we’d reached our southernmost point of the journey it was time to head backup north stopping off again at Sataya for round two with our fast swimming playful new friends. And second time around they cranked up the display a notch and I can honestly say that the was one of the best dolphin encounters I’ve had in the last five years of coming here, and all before breakfast. Our guide Mohamed always came up with great suggestions and this second dolphin bout was just to provide a buffer and to allow us time at our next destinations to minimize being with too many other boats who were all parked in the south so this was a very good call. **Island Life** On our way northwards we snorkeled at a variety of reefs and being off shore we had great week long visibility. To mix things up a bit on our penultimate day out at sea, we visited an island called Syul Island, but Mohammed knowing it would be busier got us there a few hours early so we had the place to explore and snorkel around before other boats arrived. **Aba daba doo** Our final day early morning outing was at Abu Dabbab, not the same spot as we’d visited whilst at Marsa Shagra to see the Dugong, but some offshore reefs parallel to that location and they’re helpfully numbered from 1 to 6, we opted for between 3 and 4 and despite the ravages of recent hot water events in 2012 and 2024 the reefs are bouncing back and showing some hopeful resilience which were all very relieved about, and the smaller reef fish like the Damsels and the other grazers are doing a magnificent job eating the algae and preparing the surfaces for the new coral growth which is slowly returning, lets hope it stays like this. Being more accessible these closer in reefs can be monitored more easily, and I was happy to see that they appear to be doing better than they were a couple of years back. ![School of small blue-green fish swimming over a coral reef in clear tropical water; logo at top-right. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/DuxySV-5260669-1024x768.jpg) So our penultimate snorkel here was a positive one, and so light in heart we travelled to nearby Marsa Shouna where it’s tradition to finish these southern trips. Another sea grass and coral reef fringed bay, we once again saw a bunch of big Green Sea Turtles to finish off our epic Egyptian Land and Sea Adventure. A short while later we made our way back into Port Ghalib for our traditional last night meal all together at DeVinos on the harbor side. **Last Words** Trips like these with lots of variety always seem to fly by, but also when you check back on what you’ve done it seems like loads of stuff has happened and conversely an age away, and not two fast weeks, from walking around the Grand Egyptian Museum marveling at the boy King Tuts Golden Death Mask. Indeed in the words of Howard Carter ‘wonderful things’. Paul Duxfield SV Tour Leader And as always all photos taken on either the ubiquitous [Olympus TG7,GoPro’s or DJI Action Cameras.](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/09/04/gopro-vs-olympus-tg-cameras/) **Categories:** Destinations, Trip Reports **Tags:** Best places to snorkel, coral reef, egypt, Snorkel Egypt, Snorkel With Dugongs, snorkel with turtles, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Banda Sea Snorkel Guide](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/07/23/banda-sea-snorkel-guide/) **Published:** July 23, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** ### **What is the Banda Sea?** The Banda Sea is a large, semi-circular body of water that lies northeast of [**Alor**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-forgotten-islands-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/) and runs up to the Seram Islands just south of [**Raja Ampat’s Misool**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-wakatobi-safari/). The western part of the Banda Sea is open to the Flores Sea. At the same time, the eastern border of the Banda Sea is fringed by an arching chain of islands, atolls, and numerous semi-active volcanoes, commonly referred to as the [**Forgotten Islands**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/forgotten-islands-by-liveaboard-coralia/). It is this chain of volcanic islands that gives the Banda Sea one of its more popular monikers, “The Ring of Fire”. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Banda-Sea-Snorkel-Map.jpg) The Banda Sea is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting bodies of water in all of [**Indonesia**](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/indonesia/). As you can see from the map, many different seas border the Banda Sea, like the Ceram Sea, Maluku, Flores, Timor, Arafuru, and the Aru Sea, all of which flow into the Banda Sea and deliver an abundance of nutrients that feed not only the corals but also the marine life, big and small. As a result, you can find more species of coral in the Banda Sea than you can see in [**Raja Ampat**](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/01/raja-ampat-snorkel-guide/). [**Wakatobi**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-wakatobi-safari/), for example, in the west of the Banda Sea, has an estimated 750 species of coral. Raja Ampat’s coral count is estimated at around 550. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG_6913.jpg) Another aspect that makes the Banda Sea so special is its remarkable remoteness. Only a handful of tiny villages can be found on its islands, and with the exception of Wakatobi, which has had to build its own airstrip to comfortably and conveniently service its luxury resort, there aren’t any resorts in the area. The inaccessibility of the Banda Sea’s Islands has almost entirely spared the area from widespread tourism and development. Again, except for [**Wakatobi Resort**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/12-day-wakatobi-snorkeling-safari/), the only way to experience the Banda Sea is to visit it by liveaboard, and by doing so, you leave civilization behind, allowing you to experience Indonesia’s most pristine reefs in peace. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Mermaid-II-Wetar.jpg) ### **The Banda Islands** The Banda Islands are a group of small volcanic islands—ten in total—at the very north of the Banda Sea, just south of the Seram Islands. The Banda Islands are commonly referred to as the “Spice Islands” because nutmeg and mace are indigenous to these small tropical islands. Back in the day, there was significant trade among the Dutch, Portuguese, and English. Given that these three colony-collecting nations were vying for exclusive trading rights and ultimate occupation of the Banda Islands, several cannon balls were fired, forts were built, locals were enslaved, and a “rich history” was born. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Banda-Island-Pano.jpg) On our liveaboard itineraries that include the Banda Islands, we’ll generally spend 2-3 days exploring the many different reefs. It also allows us to stretch our legs a bit, as Banda Neira — the largest of the Banda Islands — has a small town with a rich colonial history and some functional nutmeg plantations, which we’ll visit. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/Banda-Fort-Pano_2-1.jpg) The Banda Islands are a playground for snorkelers, as each of the emerald-green islands is fringed by stunning hard coral plateaus that abruptly drop into the deep, sapphire-blue water. While the bulk of the corals we’ll encounter around the Bandas are of the hard variety, there are still swaths of leather corals and colonies of sponges. If you can dive down a little, you’ll find massive red and orange sea fans lining the wall, along with some of the most enormous barrel sponges you’ll ever see! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG_7255.jpg) Where marine life is concerned, the Bandas are a reef fish enthusiast’s dream, with endless waves of red-tooth triggerfish ebbing and flowing from the reef’s edges. Mixed in with masses of red-tooth triggers, you’ll also find the very distinctive pyramid butterfly fish in vast numbers, especially if there’s a little bit of current. The shallow reef top is a great place to spot schools of goatfish and snapper, as well as many more species of butterflyfish and damsels, pufferfish, honeycomb morays, and even the occasional turtle. Given the remote nature of the Bandas, there’s really no telling what could swim by, as we’ve encountered pods of dolphins, melon-headed whales, hammerheads, and even several whale sharks in the past! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG_4504.jpg) ### **The Forgotten Islands** The[ **Forgotten Islands**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-forgotten-islands-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/) refer to some of the most remote islands in the Banda Sea, stretching approximately one thousand kilometers from around Timor and arching their way up to the Seram Islands. This chain of islands is known as the Forgotten Islands due to their remoteness, lack of development, and sparse population, as if the rest of the world has forgotten them. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Manuk-with-Mermaid-II.jpg) The snorkeling around the forgotten islands is–you guessed it–incredible! Separated by vast distances, each island or set of islands is entirely different than the last. Some are snaking atolls whose shallow reefs stretch for hundreds of meters but are only noticeable by a small sandbar that breaks the surface at low tides. Others are more limestone in nature, lined by white sand beaches, and sprout dense tropical forests. And of course, since these are the islands that inspired the name “The Ring of Fire”, many of the islands are your quintessential conical volcanoes, abruptly presenting themselves from the deep blue sea. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG_4788.jpg) The reefs and marine life are just as diverse as the islandscapes are. Around the volcanic islands, you’re likely to find many more leather corals and sponges mixed in with hard encrusting corals. You’ll also see patches of chocolate colored sand where any number of invertebrates could be found. Two of the volcanoes in the Banda Sea are ultra-unique in that they are home to hundreds, if not thousands, of black-banded sea kraits, which are very different than the black and white banded sea snakes that we’re used to seeing. Depending on the time of day, you can see groups of five or more of these snakes hunting together with the jacks and emperor fish. These are two of the only islands in the world where you can witness an abundance of sea snakes such as this. Don’t worry, for you non-snake lovers; there are plenty of other species to goggle at in the Forgotten Islands, the reefs are teeming with life! ### **Best Way to Snorkel The Banda Sea** As I mentioned earlier, the best—and the only —way to explore the Banda Sea’s magic, except for Wakatobi Resort, is by liveaboard. One of the essential things to consider when planning a trip through the Banda Sea is its itinerary, as many of the tours start and finish at different ports. For example, we currently have [**three different liveaboard itineraries**](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/indonesia/) that cruise through the Banda Sea. Still, each itinerary is very different, as a result of where the tours start and finish. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/2025-Liveaboard-Tour-Map.jpg) #### **2025 Banda Sea Liveaboard Tours** **Our** [**Alor & Forgotten Islands Snorkel Safari** ](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-forgotten-islands-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/)starts in Maumere in Eastern Flores and then heads east through the Alor Archipelago–spending a few days exploring this fantastic area. We then head north-east to the forgotten islands and follow them up to the Banda Islands, before finishing in Ambon. **Our** [**Forgotten Islands and Misool Safari** ](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/forgotten-islands-misool-amira-liveaboard/)begins in Sumlaki and makes its way north through the Forgotten Islands and the Seram Islands, eventually making its way into Misool before finishing in Sorong. Finally, our [**Forgotten Islands Snorkel Safari with Coralia**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/forgotten-islands-by-liveaboard-coralia/) in 2026 starts in Saumlaki, sails through the Forgotten Islands heading north, but cuts west to the Banda Islands and finishes in Ambon. As you can see, there is a lot of overlap in some of the islands we’ll be visiting. All the tours spend time in the Forgotten Islands, but the starting point and ending point are really what’s going to change the overall itinerary. **Wakatobi Resort** If liveaboards aren’t your thing, then an excellent option for you to experience the surreal beauty of the Banda Sea is from [**Wakatobi Resort**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/12-day-wakatobi-snorkeling-safari/), off the southeast coast of Sulawesi. Wakatobi is a very upscale resort situated on a small palm-studded island, fringed by white sandy beaches, turquoise waters, and reefs that come right up to the surface, exploding with life and color. From the shores of this resort, you’ll be able to experience for yourself what all the fuss is about when it comes to the Banda Sea. While you won’t necessarily get the whole experience of being able to cruise from one unique island to the next, you also won’t be subject to the motion of the ocean for the better part of two weeks. Around Wakatobi, the snorkeling sites are close, with a maximum distance of fifteen minutes, and they are spectacular. The reefs in the area are typically characterized by a shallow coral plateau composed of a mixture of hard corals, soft corals, and sponges, with numerous sea fans and barrel sponges found where the reef transitions into a wall. The redtoothed triggerfish—the mascot of the Banda Sea—are a staple on most sites, as are things like sea snakes, crocodile fish, and every type of anemone fish you could imagine! ### **Snorkeling Highlights of the Banda Sea** As you’ve learned by now, the Banda Sea is a vast area with numerous islands, atolls, and underwater environments, each of which supports a unique habitat for various species. With that in mind, here’s a little list of some of the things that guests have found to be the trip highlights in the past. **Manuk’s Sea Snakes** The reefs around Manuk–a sulfurous volcano in the chain of Forgotten Islands–are second to none, but the thing that makes this one of the biggest spectacles is the sheer abundance of black-banded sea kraits. Depending on the time of day and current, on one snorkel, you can see anywhere from twenty to one hundred of these sea snakes scouring the reef for their next meal or coming to the surface for a quick breath of air. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/06/IMG_4434.jpg) **The Banda Islands’ Melon-Head Whales:** In the past, a resident superpod of melon-headed whales has been known to cruise around the Banda Islands. With a bit of luck, we’ll cross paths with them as we transit between the different islands, and they’ll ride the boat’s bow wave. This pod is absolutely massive, with up to a hundred or more individuals. We have been lucky enough to snorkel with them in the past, but encounters are very brief, as they do tend to dive as soon as you even think about getting in the water with them. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DJI_0127.jpg) **Koon’s Big Fish Aggregation:** With the Banda Sea at its southern edge and the Ceram Sea to the north, the Island of Koon is home to Eastern Indonesia’s largest aggregation of spawning fish. While catching it in time for a mass spawning, which can last a few minutes to a few hours, requires an abundance of luck and precision timing, there is never a shortage of fish on this site, and they do tend to be at a depth accessible to us snorkelers. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Koon-Big-Fish.jpg) **The Walls and Reefs of Wetar and Damar** Every island we’ll visit will have stunning reefs, but there’s something about the reefs around Wetar Island and the Damar Islands that gives me goosebumps. Soft corals and sea fans cling to the islands’ walls, not offering even a glimpse of their limestone foundations beneath, while hard corals mixed with sponges and leather corals carpet these islands’ shallow plateaus. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Damar-Wall.jpg) **Honeycomb Morays** For whatever reason, these big and beautiful honeycomb morays can be found on just about any reef in the Banda Sea. I don’t think I’ve come across one anywhere else in Indonesia, only in the Banda Sea! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Honeycomb-Morays.jpg) **Ambon’s Critters:** While we don’t generally spend more than a day in Ambon, as we use it as a point of disembarkation, we can find some truly magnificent critters in the shallows. Much like [**Alor**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-forgotten-islands-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/) or the Lembeh Strait, Ambon is one of the critter capitals of the world, and everything from seahorses, frogfish, flying gurnards, ghost pipefish, and even rhinopias can be spotted here. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1012459.jpg) **Big Blue Whales** If you happen to be in the Banda Sea between May and October/November, there’s a very good chance of encountering the mighty blue whale. These behemoths migrate up to the Banda Sea each year to give birth and court, and can be spotted from the boat as we cross between islands. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DJI_0306-Edit.jpg) **Categories:** Snorkeling Guides **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, reef, snorkel, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Video: Snorkel Venture Freediving Workshop Overview](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/04/16/video-snorkel-venture-freediving-workshop-overview/) **Published:** April 16, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Curious about our [Shallow Water Freediving Workshops](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/free-dive-photo-workshops/)? With this video, Emma Farrell, our Freediving Instructor, gives you a brief overview of how our freediving workshops work, dispels common misconceptions about freediving and who can do freediving, and discusses common equalization issues that snorkeling enthusiasts *THINK* they have, which have always kept them from diving beneath the surface. Freediving can really be for everyone, and one of these workshops can really help you out and give you more opportunities to explore and experience the shallow reefs we all love. **Categories:** On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, freediving, how to snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, snorkeling tips, women snorkeling, workshop --- ### [Solomon Islands Snorkel Guide](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/06/10/solomon-islands-snorkel-guide/) **Published:** June 10, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** In May of 2026, we ran our very first snorkeling tour to the [Solomon Islands](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/solomon-islands-bilikiki-liveaboard/), and as you’ll soon see, I have a lot to say about it, because it absolutely rocked! In the snorkel guide below, you’ll hopefully get a feel for the many different aspects of the tour, from the liveaboard, the travel logistics, the above-water experiences, and of course, the reefs and marine life. In my opinion, and I believe it’s the same for most of the guests who joined this snorkeling tour, it doesn’t really matter where you’ve snorkeled prior to the Solomons; you’re going to love it. **Where are the Solomon Islands** The Solomon Islands are located off the east coast of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia. The 1,000 islands that make up the Solomons are all located on the easternmost corner of the [Coral Triangle](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/12/11/what-is-the-coral-triangle/), an area well known for having the most marine biodiversity on the planet. ![Satellite map of the Solomon Islands around Honiara with a white route tracing a line across a chain of small islands; inset shows broader region including Papua New Guinea and Australia. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Solomon-Islands-Map.jpg) **How to Get to the Solomon Islands** The easiest way to get to the Solomon Islands is via Brisbane, Australia, or Fiji. On this particular tour, we started in Fiji and flew to the capital city of the Solomon Islands, Honiara. We’ve since decided that it’s easier to fly through Australia. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/heritage-park-accommodation-3.jpg) Once in Honiara, we catch an organized transport van which will take us to our hotel in town and on the coast. Honiara is not a very beautiful place; it’s a major port town and a bit similar to Sorong in Indonesia. We have a nice and comfortable hotel to stay in, though it’s called the Heritage Park Hotel, which is a 4-star hotel right on the water and a nice little refuge from the heat and chaos outside. The following afternoon, we board the Bilikiki. **The Bilikiki Liveaboard** Up until just a few years ago, the Bilikiki has been the area’s only liveaboard. The Bilikiki was established in 1988 and pioneered snorkeling and diving in the area. There is no question about it, with the Bilikiki’s stellar reputation and extensive history in the Solomon Islands, they are the liveaboard to run snorkeling tours with. ![A large white and blue cruise ship anchored by a tropical island with white sandy beach, turquoise shallow water, and dense palm trees along the shore. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_20260427105555_0115_D-1.jpg) The Bilikiki is not a fancy boat; it’s all about function. She’s a 38-meter steel ship custom-built for diving and snorkeling in the Solomon Islands, and it really shows. While the Bilikiki might be the oldest boat we run tours on, she’s one of the best-maintained, and easily one of the quietest as she moves from one island group to the next. While she may not be as flashy as some of the boats we run tours on in Indonesia, you will want for nothing aboard the Bilikiki, and you’ll be sucked into the vessel’s charm and history soon after boarding. ![Crowded floating market scene: people on a long boat crowded with baskets of fresh vegetables and fruit, viewed from a blue railing on a nearby dock with the sea in the background. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028889.jpg) The cabins of the Bilikiki are all below deck and offer the guests a comfortable place to rest between snorkels or at the end of a beautiful day. They are air-conditioned via central air, and they also have oscillating fans if you prefer. No, they do not have potholes or windows. The ensuite bathrooms have hot and cold water, and everything else you’d need to be comfortable in your cabins, including ample storage for your clothes. The cabins are more basic and smaller by comparison to some of the Indonesian wooden phinisi liveaboards we use, but guests really only used them for napping or sleeping, and it seemed to suit everyone’s comfort standards just fine. Most people spent their time reading or lounging in the different indoor or outdoor common areas. ![Wood-paneled cabin with two stacked bunk beds, a wooden ladder, and a wall-mounted fan; towels and a brochure lie on the lower bunk | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028362.jpg) As I said, the common areas onboard were great and offered everyone a variety of comfortable places to watch the unbelievable scenery pass by. The main deck has an indoor area with a few tables. One table is reserved for cameras, while the other two are for people to lounge around, though most preferred to hang out outside. Inside, there’s also a bar in the back corner where you can grab a beer or a cocktail, and a library full of fish ID books. [ ![People dining inside a blue-patterned boat restaurant, with plates of food on tables and sunlight streaming in from outside. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028455-720x480.jpg) Dining Area ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028455.jpg "P1028455") [ ![A person on a blue boat deck aims a camera, surrounded by white chairs and railings, with water and distant trees at sunset. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028445-720x480.jpg) Sun Deck ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028445.jpg "P1028445") There are two outdoor areas, one on the main deck where we’d take all of our meals sitting around the large wooden tables, and a sun deck that’s nearly as big. The sun deck above is where everyone gathered for sunrises to watch the flocks of parrots scatter about the jungle, and sunsets where snacks and sundowners were served. ![Group of snorkelers in life jackets on a small dinghy beside a larger white tour boat in calm water, with a green tropical shoreline and a snorkelventure banner in the sky. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_20260425054453_0046_D.jpg) The top deck also features a charging room where you can conveniently charge all your different batteries safely. On the main deck, on the back of the boat, is where you’ll find the dive deck, where all your wet snorkeling gear will live. This area is spacious and set up perfectly for changing in and out of your wet gear, and then boarding the Bilikiki’s “tinnies.” The tinnies are the Bilikiki’s tender boats, which shuttle us the short distance to the snorkeling site. They are very easy to get in and out of, and offer plenty of space for guests and their snorkeling gear. **The Day to Day** On our trip, based on the guests’ preferences and the reefs we were exploring, we opted to do two long day snorkels each day, and on a couple of occasions, we’d enjoy a night snorkel. We’d start our days with a big breakfast around 7:30. We’d then have a snorkel site briefing, followed by the morning snorkel session around 8:30 or 9 am. As the sites are quite expansive in the Solomons and offer a lot of different areas to explore, we’d enjoy a two or two and a half hour snorkel in the morning. We’d then break for lunch around noon, and then hit the water again around 2 in the afternoon for another two-hour snorkel session on a different reef. There were two different opportunities for night snorkeling, which took place after dinner. ![Aerial view of a coral reef with turquoise water, palm trees along the shoreline, and a snorkelventure logo in the top-right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_20260425060811_0107_D-1.jpg) There were a couple of days where we had visits to the local villages, which was a real treat and helped give perspective as to how the local communities make their lives, while also being able to purchase some local carvings and observing traditional dances. **The Reefs** While I had a boat full of repeat Snorkel Venture guests who’d previously spent time snorkeling in places like Raja Ampat, Halmahera, Komodo, Alor, and the Banda Sea with us, I was quite apprehensive about how they would receive the reefs of the Solomon Islands. I had not seen the reefs of the Solomons for myself yet; I’d had friends and former colleagues who’d spent time in the Solomons in the past and had assured me I was in for a surprise, but the unknown still made me a bit uneasy. ![Snorkeler swimming over a vibrant coral reef under clear blue water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1073487.jpg) As soon as we entered the water, my concerns were put to rest. While the reefs didn’t really resemble those of any of our Indonesian snorkeling destinations, they’re no less interesting or beautiful. Anyway, if they looked like any of the other destinations we run tours to, there’d be no point in traveling all the way to the Solomon Islands. ![Two divers swim through a sunlit underwater cave with rocky walls; Snorkelventure logo in the top-right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1073152.jpg) The Reefs of the Solomon Islands are uniquely their own. A blend of the classic Coral Triangle cacophony of colors mixed with the topographic elements found around Pacific Islands like Palau and Fiji. Most of the reefs were characterized by a hard coral reef, which very gently sloped away from the island, and would typically drop into a wall or a very steep slope. The reef tops were primarily covered in a mixture of hard corals, while the walls were a mix of limestone, soft corals, sea fans, and sponges. In a few areas we visited, the shallows weren’t so coral-dense, but more a mix of stunning limestone or volcanic topography, with some hard corals mixed in. For those who like to duck-dive, these underwater landscapes offer the ultimate place to explore the shadow swim-throughs. The diversity in the types of snorkeling sites rivals that of any of our other top snorkeling destinations! ![Underwater blue ocean scene with a rocky coral reef and a dense school of small, colorful fish swimming around it. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1073320.jpg) As the trip progressed, we were treated to an even more diverse set of reefs, which offered some very interesting muck snorkeling sites, ridges and pinnacles where pelagic species roamed in the blue, a few wrecks—one of which is from WWII and starts right at the surface, and some very beautiful mangroves. Thanks to our drone, we even found a manta feeding area, something not even the most experienced crew had known about! **Marine Life** Like the reefs, the marine life is equally diverse and robust. Given that we’re in the Coral Triangle, you can expect all the staples of Indonesia, but you also get some new faces in the Solomon Islands that you won’t find in Indonesia, like the white bonnet anemone fish. This white bonnet anemone fish is a naturally occurring hybrid species that’s believed to be a cross between a pink anemone fish and a bluestripe anemone fish. Actually, where anemone fish are concerned, we had some quite unusual encounters as we were finding a lot of anemones with up to three different species in one anemone. Typically, one anemone will only have one species residing within it. I’ve only seen that a handful of times in all my past snorkeling experiences, but out in the Solomons, we were finding it on most snorkels. ![Underwater scene with several striped fish swimming near brown mangrove roots in clear tropical water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1073881.jpg) We, of course, found plenty of moray eels, all the different species of angel fish and pufferfish, a number of different nudibranchs, including a species I’ve never seen before called the *glossodoris averni*. We had large schools of archer fish in the mangroves, along with many courting pipefish, and all the different masters of disguise like cuttlefish, octopus, sea horses, crocodile fish, and a number of different scorpionfish. ![Orange clownfish with white and blue stripes facing the camera in a coral reef setting | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1073729-1.jpg) As for the bigger fish, we had plenty. On some of the ridges and pinnacles, we had some very large schools of big-eye jacks, barracuda, and batfish. We were also greeted by a number of juvenile and adolescent grey reef sharks, something we don’t really get on any of our other snorkeling safaris. We also had black tips and white tip reef sharks right up in the shallows, along with an eagle ray. As I said a bit earlier, we also had feeding reef mantas, about fifteen or so, swimming in circles around us for the better part of an hour. **The Local Vibe** While the snorkeling experience was nothing short of outstanding, I believe it was the genuine experience with locals from the many different villages that really made this trip unique. This was a completely unexpected element that I don’t think anyone had really expected, myself included. Nearly everywhere we turned up, it wasn’t long before there’d be one or a dozen hand-dug canoes slowly making their way to the Bilikiki. Before you knew it, a whole flotilla of wooden canoes would be tied up to the vessel as the locals sold their freshly picked fruits and vegetables to the chefs. This was how the Bilikiki maintained a fresh supply of produce, which we’d get to enjoy at the next meal! ![Overhead view of a crowded boat market with vendors and shoppers arranging fresh vegetables on the deck. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028905.jpg) We were also treated to a visit to two different island villages, once to visit a local carving market made up of all the nearby wood carvers selling their stunning ocean-inspired pieces, and then again for a tour of a traditional village led by the lovely chief. Given the lack of tourism in the area, and the well-established relationship between the Bilikiki and the local communities, every experience or encounter felt genuine and without any of that nagging guilt, we, as foreigners, often feel when we engage with the local residents like this. ![Rows of leather sandals and belts laid out on a blue cloth at a seaside market, with people and a shoreline in the background. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028681.jpg) **How to Snorkel the Solomon Islands** While there are some small home-stays and resorts, we feel the best way to snorkel the Solomon Islands is via the Bilikiki Liveaboard. First, arriving at the resorts and homestays adds a whole other logistical layer to your already quite extensive travel itinerary. In order to access these places, you’ll need to catch small puddle-jumper planes followed by boat rides. After flying to Australia and then to Honiara, the last thing you want to do is get on an even smaller plane, followed by a boat. With the Bilikiki, you arrive in Honiara and board the vessel conveniently from the port next to the hotel. ![A group of adults on a blue boat deck raising glasses in a toast, with water and green hills in the background. The Snorkel Venture logo is visible in the sky. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1074750.jpg) Another reason why we are so pro-liveaboard is that liveaboards offer so much flexibility to move around unfavorable weather and to adapt to the marine life. Not to mention, you get to see a much bigger area of the Solomon Islands, not just the area ten to thirty minutes around the resort. It’s so lovely waking up to new scenery each and every morning. **Categories:** Snorkeling Guides **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, island, islands, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, solomon --- ### [Snorkel Venture Donates 20,000 USD To Charity Partners](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/10/06/weve-just-donation-20000-usd-to-our-charity-partners/) **Published:** October 6, 2025 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** With thanks to all of our Snorkel Venture guest who have traveled so far with us this year we have just made donations to [Bite-Back Shark and Marine Conservation](https://www.bite-back.com/?v=7885444af42e) and [Reef World Foundation. ](https://reef-world.org)Both these charities form part of our [**Snorkel for Good Every Trip**](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) campaign where we donate 100 USD for every person who has traveled with us. Bite-Back has been a long time supporter of sharks, which due to overfishing, especially by industrial tuna fleets, has reduced populations of some shark species by around 70%. More than 73 million sharks are killed annually – an average of 200,000 a day. Because of the negative role played by tuna fisheries, Bite-Back encourages its supporters to buy only tuna caught by pole and line and spread the word. The founder of Bite-Back Graham Buckingham’s response when we told him about this 8,000 USD contribution was: > *‘WOW-WEE. This is huge. I can’t tell you how much of a lifeline this donation is. Thank you so much to every guest at Snorkel Venture who has helped make this contribution’* We also made a 12,000 USD donation to Reef World, a reef conservation charity. We had this response from their team: > ‘Thank you so much for such a generous donation – it really is so very appreciated, especially now when fundraising is so challenging at the moment. It’s so reassuring to have long term supporters like you that we can rely on to help on a regular basis’ N. McClure. > > ‘Just to add my thanks and enormous gratitude to you and the rest of your team. As Naomi says, this is greatly appreciated during these times and will go a long way’ JJ. Each donation just forms part of our total fundraising commitment of 65,000 USD for 2025 to our charity partners which also include Misool Foundation, Thrive Conservation and Manta Trust. **Categories:** Conservation --- ### [On the Front Lines of Plastic Pollution - Report by Lydia](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/05/11/on-the-font-lines-of-plastic-pollution/) **Published:** May 11, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** Its been nearly a century since plastic became commonplace in our lives. And over the years it has slowly made its way into every corner of the planet and when I say every corner, I mean it. Studies have found plastic in human placentas as well as in most food we consume. Plastic litter can be found as high as Mount Everest and as deep as the Mariana Trench. Like many revolutionary inventions, plastic reshaped the world in ways we could never have imagined, and not all for the better. But now that the plastic cat is out of the bag it isn’t going back in without a fight! The average single use plastic bag is utilized for 10 to 20 minutes, the time it takes us to get our shopping from the store to our homes and the bag to end up in the bin. From the bin, that bag will go to landfill where it will take over 1000 years to break down. This scenario is based in a country fortunate enough to have waste management systems in place. We toss our plastic bags into the general waste bin. Once a week, we wheel the bin out to the curb, and by morning it’s empty. As if by magic, the rubbish disappears, forgotten about, as the cycle quietly repeats itself. But imagine if that system didn’t exist. How long would it take before our sidewalks, homes, forests, and rivers were overwhelmed by the waste we produce every day? This is the reality for many countries, where the rise of plastic happened so rapidly that no infrastructure was ever built to manage it. ![Expansive blue sea covered with floating plastic trash and debris near the shoreline. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/DJI_0096-1024x682.jpg) **Meet the No Trash Triangle Initiative** This past week, I had the pleasure of meeting some of the team behind the No Trash Triangle Initiative (NTTI) in North Sulawesi, people who are truly on the front lines of the plastic crisis. Since 2017, NTTI has been working to create practical, long-term solutions to reduce and remove plastic waste from their local environment. What makes their work so impressive is their deep understanding of just how complex their challenge is, yet rather than shying away from it, they’re tackling it from all angles, and achieving remarkable results. ![Group of volunteers posing in a plastic sorting facility with large bundled bags behind them and a banner reading 'Ocean Plastic Sorting Station' | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/IMG_20260506_090943-2-1024x768.jpg) **Waste management** On my trip I visited Bangka Island, off the coast of Manado, in North Sulawesi, where in [Coral Eye Resort](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/07/29/snorkeling-from-coral-eye-resort-first-impressions/), once a marine biology outpost, the idea for NTTI first came to fruition. Next to the resort is one of NTTI’s sorting stations. Here their employees sort waste collected from Bangka and surrounding remote islands who’s communities would otherwise have no choice but to litter or burn their plastic. This is no easy achievement, with small island logistics being notoriously complex, yet NTTI are on the mission! Across the channel from Bangka island lies Manado city, home to half a million people. Here, trash is a huge issue. The city’s landfill, a mountain of never ending rubbish is bordered by a river. When it rains, the waste washes into the river, where it will inevitably flow into the ocean, unless NTTI intervenes. Since 2024, they have set up 200 meters of river barriers in the largest rivers of the city, literally barricading the flow of plastic. Then, their incredible team, walks in to the river and one piece at a time, removes the plastic. In 2025 alone, this initiative stopped 100 tonnes of plastic reaching the ocean. ![Workers collect plastic waste from a polluted river on a makeshift raft beside concrete riverbanks and urban buildings. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-09-at-13.44.14-1024x576.jpeg) **The NTTI team, doing their daily rounds, clearing plastic caught in the river barriers.** ![Stacks of dirty striped burlap sacks filled with material, labeled signs hanging on a wooden beam | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-09-at-13.52.51-1024x768.jpeg) **OPSS – Ocean Plastic Sorting Station in Manado.** Once at their sorting station, the plastic is categorized into recyclable and non recyclable plastics and instead of ending up back in Manado landfill, it is sent to a recycling centre in Java. All plastic is traced to assure it is being shipped and processed correctly. **School On The Beach** In my eyes, one of NTTI’s most impressive achievements is their work with local schools. They have set up a program called ‘School on the Beach’, working with 5 schools so far and planning to expand. The ethos of this program is to take children out of the classroom and into nature, seeing first hand its beauty and fragility. As part of the program, spanning over a few months, the kids propagate, raise and replant a mangrove seed each. They also spend time on the beach, swimming and snorkeling, learning about corals, marine life and of course the affects of plastic. ![Group of kids on a wooden dock by clear water, wearing snorkels and swimwear, posing for a photo under a blue sky. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/NTTI_SchoolOnTheBeach_Corallesson.jpeg-1024x768.webp) **Bangka School kids, on the Coral Eye resort jetty, during a ‘School on the Beach’ class.** On Bangka island, I also visited the school, where the headmaster told me how the students have taken matters in to their own hands. Inspired by school on the beach, they have built their own sorting station, where they sort village waste, ready to be transported off the island. The kids genuinely see the value of reducing waste. Ishella, the NTTI general secretary, who very kindly took the time to show me around their facilities, proudly told me ‘the kids called me up one day and asked if they could host their own beach clean’. Seeing the children change their attitude towards plastic is inspiring older generations in the village to do the same, creating long lasting social change. ![People stand near a shed with a sign reading 'Trash Sorting Station' among dense green foliage. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-09-at-13.44.16-1-1024x576.jpeg) **The children’s trash sorting station, an extra curriculum activity, that has sparked change amongst the community.** **Corporate Responsibility** With such an immense task at hand, NTTI welcomes all the support it can get. To strengthen its impact, the organization partners with numerous resorts throughout the region. NTTI trains resort staff to properly separate their waste into designated bags provided by the team, before coordinating the logistics to ensure it reaches the appropriate recycling and processing facilities. As major contributors to local waste production, the involvement and commitment of these businesses is essential. **Small Actions, Lasting Change** My time with NTTI was incredibly inspirational, the plastic problem can often seem overwhelming which can result in apathy and inaction. However, we can all draw inspiration from the NTTI team and their ‘can do’ attitude! Although the effects of plastic pollution may be more visible in countries with limited waste management infrastructure, the issue itself is undeniably global. Every day plastic piles up in our landfills, leaches into the environment, pollutes nature, kills wildlife and slowly poisons us. Plastic production shows no sign of slowing, yet we all have the power to reduce plastic demand by making choices that favor sustainability over conveniency. Over time, these conscious choices become second nature, gradually shaping habits that look after us and our planet. ![Group of volunteers on a sunny beach planting young saplings in the sand, wearing blue shirts. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-09-at-14.27.52-1024x768.jpeg) Thank you NTTI, I am inspired! To learn more and join the movement, visit the [No Trash Triangle website. ](https://www.no-trashtriangle.org) **Categories:** Conservation, Marine Life, Tips & Advice **Tags:** charity, conservation, coral reef, plastic --- ### [Trip Report: Snorkeling Sulawesi and Raja Ampat - Turtles, Reefs & Keeping Promises (Just about)](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/05/17/trip-report-north-sulawesi-and-raja-ampat-turtles-reefs-and-keeping-promises-just-about/) **Published:** May 17, 2026 **Author:** Paul Duxfield **Content:** This trip report is going to be a bit different, and I make no apology for this. You see, being a photographer I tend to recall things based around pictures I’ve taken, so I’m not going to list all the sites we visited, but I am going to curate the places that have had a particular impact upon me, especially from a visual image point of view. This is difficult on a tour like this as there’s always a lot to choose from, and it is a very personal view. Chatting with our group at the end of each day never stops informing me that whilst there is often universal appreciation for the various delights we may have all encountered that day, each and every individual has their own unique perspective. So alongside sharing with the group the exciting sea snake encounter we had all swim amongst us, there’ll be someone as equally rapt about watching a starfish make its way slowly across the reef, or a pair of tiny bulldozer shrimp and a partner goby doing their thing—keeping what must rank as one of the oddest cohabiting trios in apartment sharing history. Yet another reason to love the enthusiasm for snorkeling and those that do it! **First Snorkel of the Tour:** “**Like Being in a Dream”** Our trip began in [Siladen Resort, North Sulawesi.](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-safari-2025/) This area is known for its bustling sea turtle population. So, I made a wager with my group that I thought almost impossible to lose, yet it didn’t make me any less nervous as you never know when Mother Nature might play a cosmic joke on you. I promised the group that, if we didn’t see a turtle during our first snorkel I would run naked around Siladen village! So, it was with no small amount of relief that within a few minutes of entering the water from the Siladen Resort tender, we’d seen not one but three turtles, and over the next 75 minutes we lost count in all honesty. ![Sea turtle swimming underwater in clear blue ocean with a snorkeler visible above in the background near the surface (logo top right). | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/NSRATripReport-6-1024x766.jpg) One of the very best benefits of snorkeling is that you get to communicate with your fellow snorkelers in a way that is impossible if you’re tethered to a scuba tank for an hour. So it was with great pleasure that one of my new friends, who was a Snorkel Venture and Indonesia virgin, said to me, “*oh my god this is like being in a dream,”* on our very first snorkel of the tour, after they’d just witnessed the wonders of an Indonesian reef close up and personal for the first time. As a tour leader there’s nothing that makes us happier than if YOU are having a great time, and we’re only human so positive affirmations like this are our bread and butter. Our chosen site that first morning was Lekuan Pygmy on nearby Bunaken Island, and if ever there was a sure fire guarantee of seeing Heroes in Half Shells it was here—hence my fairly secure promise at the outset. So with a fantastic, turtle filled first snorkel under our belts, my first trip of 2026 was off to a great start! **Life at Siladen: A Blissfully Consistent Routine** The pattern of life at [Siladen Resort & Spa](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) is blissfully consistent, with a couple of long snorkels in the morning, then an extensive varied buffet lunch, followed by a late afternoon snorkel. We were usually in the water around 3:30 to 4pm. This is a great time of day if you’re an [underwater photographer](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/08/07/fundamentals-of-underwater-photography-for-snorkelers/), but it’s equally beneficial if you like to see the reef ecosystem behave somewhat differently than it does earlier in the day. As a photographer, I find the lower sunlight offers up lovely beams of light and moody silhouettes if pointing towards the sun. Shooting with a strobe also allows me to light up the foreground whilst still keeping the sun’s rays in the frame—a look I never get tired of. But even if you’ve never taken a shot and prefer to remain unhindered by photo gear, this time of day serves up very different behavior from the creatures that inhabit the reef. As the day draws on, daytime reef fish start to find places to shelter from predators, while those predators begin to liven up and head out looking for dinner. You’ll witness a lot more activity overall, and it’s also a great time to see more pelagic species like jacks and trevallies making forays into the reef. Meanwhile, fusilier schools gather into tighter formations—safety in numbers in action. ![Underwater coral reef with orange and purple sponges and pink coral, sunlit blue water; Snorkel Venture logo in the top right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/NSRATripReport-5-1024x740.jpg) ![Underwater coral reef with a large, patterned mollusk or gastropod on the rocky foreground and a school of small fish swimming in the blue water above. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/NSRATripReport-9-1024x768.jpg) **Mandolin and Manado Tua: Conditions Just Right** Apart from dispensing pearls of wisdom from across the decades, one of my roles is to try and capture our snorkel gang doing their thing. I tend to do this in a mostly candid fashion, as I’d rather not put pressure on people to pose or interrupt their snorkel time. It’s especially useful when we visit a location where I know the scenery is great, the sun is out, coming from the right direction, and even better if I know the site from previous trips. On the morning of the third day at Siladen, we visited a glorious site called Mandolin, with the spectacular topside backdrop of Manado Tua, a dormant volcano very close by. As I don’t bring my big camera rig on these trips, I can carry a couple of smaller cameras alongside the almost ubiquitous [Olympus TG7.](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/04/06/unboxing-the-olympus-tg-7-camera-and-housing-setup-maintenance-and-settings/) With perfect conditions, I decided to use a [GoPro](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/09/04/gopro-vs-olympus-tg-cameras/) with a half-and-half dome housing to s[hoot split shots.](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/11/05/five-tips-for-getting-the-perfect-over-under-photo/) This morning at Mandolin couldn’t have been better—the backdrop of a volcano against a blue sky dotted with white clouds, snorkellers on a beautiful reef… the pictures almost took themselves. ![Over-under view: bright blue sky with island and cloud above water, with a snorkeler and coral reef beneath the surface. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/NSRATripReport-1-1024x790.jpg) There’s so much more going on in the top few meters of the reef, and as someone who dives as well, I find that as a snorkeler I’ve gained a wholly different appreciation of this area of the underwater world. My knowledge is growing exponentially, which at 60 is no mean feat, and I’m loving it—it certainly underlines that you can teach an old dog new tricks. **Post-Snorkel Evenings: Stories, Fish ID and Desserts** Most days after the snorkels I’d find some of the gang down at the bar, and over a beer or a cocktail we’d discuss fish ID. I often find that our snorkellers are much more knowledgeable than me, so my particular forte is sharing snippets of marine biology I’ve gathered over the years—mainly about behaviour, which alongside photography is where my personal interest lies. So, for example, I’ll know about damselfish as a group—their breeding patterns, what they eat, and even how they communicate—but I’d be hard pushed to name all the different variations without hitting the books. I love these post-snorkel sessions. They tend to segue nicely into dinner and become a real sharing of knowledge, with everyone taking something useful away—alongside some of the most delicious desserts imaginable. **Moving On: From Siladen to [Raja Ampat, the Last Paradise ](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/)** After a week’s snorkelling at Siladen Resort, it was time to bid our fond farewells and head further east, as this two-centre trip was far from over. After a relatively smooth journey by boat and plane, we arrived in the bustling and slightly crazy town of Sorong. From there, after breakfast near the airport, we departed by boat to our next tropical island base—[Papua Explorers Resort](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/12/featured-house-reef-papua-explorers/) in the heart of Raja Ampat. ![Two orange clownfish swim among pale sea anemone tentacles underwater; logo watermarked in the corner | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/NSRATripReport-4-1024x764.jpg) Raja Ampat feels exactly as it’s often called—“the last paradise”—because being quite far flung means you rarely encounter other boats. As snorkelers, it’s even rarer to bump into another group. Which made it all the more amusing that the other group sharing the resort with us was another snorkelling group. It’s a sign of how group snorkel trips are becoming more popular. Not long ago, snorkellers would have been in the minority at most resorts, usually surrounded by divers. **Mangroves, Jetties and More to Explore** Introducing our gang to new snorkelling environments is always fun, and one of the most engaging has to be the mangroves that fringe many Indonesian sites. In Raja Ampat, they play a vital role in the ecosystem, providing shelter and food for a myriad of juvenile fish and critters. They’re also, in my opinion, a great place to take photographs, with the transition between tree roots and shafts of sunlight piercing the darker water creating striking scenes. ![Underwater coral reef with a school of spotted fish drifting above a sunken wreck, turquoise water visible, SnorkelVentur e logo in the top-right. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/NSRATripReport-8-1024x710.jpg) Another great location for fish and photography can be found around jetties and docks. These provide a man-made sheltered environment where large schools of fish gather, and on the legs of the structures you’ll often find soft corals and fans—ideal spots to look for creatures like hawkfish and [nudibranchs.](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/01/20/nudibranchs-you-either-love-them-or-you-really-really-love-them/) ![Underwater scene showing large brown fan coral with a school of small fish swimming by, sunlight filtering through blue water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/NSRATripReport-10-1024x770.jpg) **The Fam Islands Day Trip** [Papua Explorers](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/)’ fast tenders got us to most locations in under thirty minutes, but one of the longer trips we make is to the Fam Islands. On this occasion, they surprised us by adding an extra snorkel. Even with the longer journey, we still managed three snorkels, a packed lunch, a climb up to the viewpoint, and made it back in time to explore the house reef for a sunset snorkel. **A Group from All Corners of the Globe** My traveling companions reflected exactly what we’re all about at Snorkel Venture—bringing together like-minded souls from all four corners of the globe to share a joint passion. On this trip we had Americans, Aussies, Canadians, a Brazilian-Uruguayan couple, and of course a couple of Brits—someone needed to show this lot how to make a proper cup of tea. I do have one of the most enviable jobs around. Yes, there’s the travel and the incredible marine life, but one of the very best parts is meeting people—new friends and old ones alike. It’s always great to reconnect with those I’ve travelled with before, and it’s unusual these days to be on a trip where I don’t know at least a few faces. **Final Thoughts** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/NSRATripReport-3-790x1024.jpg) Both locations on this tour deliver a diverse snorkelling experience, great for fish spotters and photo enthusiasts alike. There’s a reason why the Coral Triangle regularly tops the density of corals and marine life league tables year after year. Sharing this with a small group of like-minded people, while being looked after by resorts like Siladen and Papua Explorers, has to be one of the nicest ways to spend a few weeks away from the troubles and frenetic pace of modern life. And thankfully, on this occasion, I didn’t have to make good on that promise. **Paul Duxfield** SV Tour Leader *As always on these trips, I make the deliberate decision to shoot with either an Olympus TG7 or an action camera (GoPro or DJI), as it*’*s what most of our guests use and far easier for international travel. All images from this trip were captured using that kit. **Categories:** Destinations, On Tour, Trip Reports **Tags:** Best places to snorkel, coral reef, GoPro, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, komodo resort, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel raja ampat, snorkel safari, snorkel Sulawesi, Snorkel vacation, Snorkel Venture, snorkel with turtles, underwater photography --- ### [Trip Report: Snorkeling Solomon Islands - Amazing Reefs in Stunning Conditions](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/06/07/solomon-islands-trip-report/) **Published:** June 7, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** In May of 2026, we ran our very first snorkeling tour to the [Solomon Islands](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/solomon-islands-bilikiki-liveaboard/), and as you’ll soon see, I have a lot to say about it, because it absolutely rocked! In the trip report below, you’ll hopefully get a feel for the many different aspects of the tour, from the liveaboard, the travel logistics, the above-water experiences, and of course, the reefs and marine life. In my opinion, and I believe it’s the same for most of the guests who joined this snorkeling tour, it doesn’t really matter where you’ve snorkeled prior to the Solomons; you’re going to love it. **Where are the Solomon Islands** The Solomon Islands are located off the east coast of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia. The 1,000 islands that make up the Solomons are all located on the easternmost corner of the [Coral Triangle](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/12/11/what-is-the-coral-triangle/), an area well known for having the most marine biodiversity on the planet. ![Satellite map of the Solomon Islands around Honiara with a white route tracing a line across a chain of small islands; inset shows broader region including Papua New Guinea and Australia. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Solomon-Islands-Map.jpg) **How to Get to the Solomon Islands** The easiest way to get to the Solomon Islands is via Brisbane, Australia, or Fiji. On this particular tour, we started in Fiji and flew to the capital city of the Solomon Islands, Honiara. We’ve since decided that it’s easier to fly through Australia. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/heritage-park-accommodation-3.jpg) Once in Honiara, we catch an organized transport van which will take us to our hotel in town and on the coast. Honiara is not a very beautiful place; it’s a major port town and a bit similar to Sorong in Indonesia. We have a comfortable hotel to stay in though, called the Heritage Park Hotel, which is a 4-star hotel right on the water and a nice little refuge from the heat and chaos outside. The following afternoon, we board the Bilikiki. **The Bilikiki Liveaboard** Up until just a few years ago, the Bilikiki has been the area’s only liveaboard. The Bilikiki was established in 1988 and pioneered snorkeling and diving in the area. There is no question about it, with the Bilikiki’s stellar reputation and extensive history in the Solomon Islands, they are the liveaboard to run snorkeling tours with. ![A large white and blue cruise ship anchored by a tropical island with white sandy beach, turquoise shallow water, and dense palm trees along the shore. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_20260427105555_0115_D-1.jpg) The Bilikiki is not a fancy boat; it’s all about function. She’s a 38-meter steel ship custom-built for diving and snorkeling in the Solomon Islands, and it really shows. While the Bilikiki might be the oldest boat we run tours on, she’s one of the best-maintained, and easily one of the quietest as she moves from one island group to the next. While she may not be as flashy as some of the boats we run tours on in Indonesia, you will want for nothing aboard the Bilikiki, and you’ll be sucked into the vessel’s charm and history soon after boarding. ![Crowded floating market scene: people on a long boat crowded with baskets of fresh vegetables and fruit, viewed from a blue railing on a nearby dock with the sea in the background. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028889.jpg) The cabins of the Bilikiki are all below deck and offer the guests a comfortable place to rest between snorkels or at the end of a beautiful day. They are air-conditioned via central air, and they also have oscillating fans if you prefer. No, they do not have potholes or windows. The ensuite bathrooms have hot and cold water, and everything else you’d need to be comfortable in your cabins, including ample storage for your clothes. The cabins are more basic and smaller by comparison to some of the Indonesian wooden phinisi liveaboards we use, but guests really only used them for napping or sleeping, and it seemed to suit everyone’s comfort standards just fine. Most people spent their time reading or lounging in the different indoor or outdoor common areas. ![Wood-paneled cabin with two stacked bunk beds, a wooden ladder, and a wall-mounted fan; towels and a brochure lie on the lower bunk | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028362.jpg) As I said, the common areas onboard were great and offered everyone a variety of comfortable places to watch the unbelievable scenery pass by. The main deck has an indoor area with a few tables. One table is reserved for cameras, while the other two are for people to lounge around, though most preferred to hang out outside. Inside, there’s also a bar in the back corner where you can grab a beer or a cocktail, and a library full of fish ID books. [ ![People dining inside a blue-patterned boat restaurant, with plates of food on tables and sunlight streaming in from outside. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028455-720x480.jpg) Dining Area ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028455.jpg "P1028455") [ ![A person on a blue boat deck aims a camera, surrounded by white chairs and railings, with water and distant trees at sunset. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028445-720x480.jpg) Sun Deck ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028445.jpg "P1028445") There are two outdoor areas, one on the main deck where we’d take all of our meals sitting around the large wooden tables, and a sun deck that’s nearly as big. The sun deck above is where everyone gathered for sunrises to watch the flocks of parrots scatter about the jungle, and sunsets where snacks and sundowners were served. ![Group of snorkelers in life jackets on a small dinghy beside a larger white tour boat in calm water, with a green tropical shoreline and a snorkelventure banner in the sky. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_20260425054453_0046_D.jpg) The top deck also features a charging room where you can conveniently charge all your different batteries safely. On the main deck, on the back of the boat, is where you’ll find the dive deck, where all your wet snorkeling gear will live. This area is spacious and set up perfectly for changing in and out of your wet gear, and then boarding the Bilikiki’s “tinnies.” The tinnies are the Bilikiki’s tender boats, which shuttle us the short distance to the snorkeling site. They are very easy to get in and out of, and offer plenty of space for guests and their snorkeling gear. **The Day to Day** On our trip, based on the guests’ preferences and the reefs we were exploring, we opted to do two long day snorkels each day, and on a couple of occasions, we’d enjoy a night snorkel. We’d start our days with a big breakfast around 7:30. We’d then have a snorkel site briefing, followed by the morning snorkel session around 8:30 or 9 am. As the sites are quite expansive in the Solomons and offer a lot of different areas to explore, we’d enjoy a two or two and a half hour snorkel in the morning. We’d then break for lunch around noon, and then hit the water again around 2 in the afternoon for another two-hour snorkel session on a different reef. There were two different opportunities for night snorkeling, which took place after dinner. ![Aerial view of a coral reef with turquoise water, palm trees along the shoreline, and a snorkelventure logo in the top-right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_20260425060811_0107_D-1.jpg) There were a couple of days where we had visits to the local villages, which was a real treat and helped give perspective as to how the local communities make their lives, while also being able to purchase some local carvings and observing traditional dances. **The Reefs** While I had a boat full of repeat Snorkel Venture guests who’d previously spent time snorkeling in places like Raja Ampat, Halmahera, Komodo, Alor, and the Banda Sea with us, I was quite apprehensive about how they would receive the reefs of the Solomon Islands. I had not seen the reefs of the Solomons for myself yet; I’d had friends and former colleagues who’d spent time in the Solomons in the past and had assured me I was in for a surprise, but the unknown still made me a bit uneasy. ![Snorkeler swimming over a vibrant coral reef under clear blue water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1073487.jpg) As soon as we entered the water, my concerns were put to rest. While the reefs didn’t really resemble those of any of our Indonesian snorkeling destinations, they’re no less interesting or beautiful. Anyway, if they looked like any of the other destinations we run tours to, there’d be no point in traveling all the way to the Solomon Islands. ![Two divers swim through a sunlit underwater cave with rocky walls; Snorkelventure logo in the top-right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1073152.jpg) The Reefs of the Solomon Islands are uniquely their own. A blend of the classic Coral Triangle cacophony of colors mixed with the topographic elements found around Pacific Islands like Palau and Fiji. Most of the reefs were characterized by a hard coral reef, which very gently sloped away from the island, and would typically drop into a wall or a very steep slope. The reef tops were primarily covered in a mixture of hard corals, while the walls were a mix of limestone, soft corals, sea fans, and sponges. In a few areas we visited, the shallows weren’t so coral-dense, but more a mix of stunning limestone or volcanic topography, with some hard corals mixed in. For those who like to duck-dive, these underwater landscapes offer the ultimate place to explore the shadow swim-throughs. The diversity in the types of snorkeling sites rivals that of any of our other top snorkeling destinations! ![Underwater blue ocean scene with a rocky coral reef and a dense school of small, colorful fish swimming around it. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1073320.jpg) As the trip progressed, we were treated to an even more diverse set of reefs, which offered some very interesting muck snorkeling sites, ridges and pinnacles where pelagic species roamed in the blue, a few wrecks—one of which is from WWII and starts right at the surface, and some very beautiful mangroves. Thanks to our drone, we even found a manta feeding area, something not even the most experienced crew had known about! **Marine Life** Like the reefs, the marine life is equally diverse and robust. Given that we’re in the Coral Triangle, you can expect all the staples of Indonesia, but you also get some new faces in the Solomon Islands that you won’t find in Indonesia, like the white bonnet anemone fish. This white bonnet anemone fish is a naturally occurring hybrid species that’s believed to be a cross between a pink anemone fish and a bluestripe anemone fish. Actually, where anemone fish are concerned, we had some quite unusual encounters as we were finding a lot of anemones with up to three different species in one anemone. Typically, one anemone will only have one species residing within it. I’ve only seen that a handful of times in all my past snorkeling experiences, but out in the Solomons, we were finding it on most snorkels. ![Underwater scene with several striped fish swimming near brown mangrove roots in clear tropical water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1073881.jpg) We, of course, found plenty of moray eels, all the different species of angel fish and pufferfish, a number of different nudibranchs, including a species I’ve never seen before called the *glossodoris averni*. We had large schools of archer fish in the mangroves, along with many courting pipefish, and all the different masters of disguise like cuttlefish, octopus, sea horses, crocodile fish, and a number of different scorpionfish. ![Orange clownfish with white and blue stripes facing the camera in a coral reef setting | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1073729-1.jpg) As for the bigger fish, we had plenty. On some of the ridges and pinnacles, we had some very large schools of big-eye jacks, barracuda, and batfish. We were also greeted by a number of juvenile and adolescent grey reef sharks, something we don’t really get on any of our other snorkeling safaris. We also had black tips and white tip reef sharks right up in the shallows, along with an eagle ray. As I said a bit earlier, we also had feeding reef mantas, about fifteen or so, swimming in circles around us for the better part of an hour. **The Local Vibe** While the snorkeling experience was nothing short of outstanding, I believe it was the genuine experience with locals from the many different villages that really made this trip unique. This was a completely unexpected element that I don’t think anyone had really expected, myself included. Nearly everywhere we turned up, it wasn’t long before there’d be one or a dozen hand-dug canoes slowly making their way to the Bilikiki. Before you knew it, a whole flotilla of wooden canoes would be tied up to the vessel as the locals sold their freshly picked fruits and vegetables to the chefs. This was how the Bilikiki maintained a fresh supply of produce, which we’d get to enjoy at the next meal! ![Overhead view of a crowded boat market with vendors and shoppers arranging fresh vegetables on the deck. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028905.jpg) We were also treated to a visit to two different island villages, once to visit a local carving market made up of all the nearby wood carvers selling their stunning ocean-inspired pieces, and then again for a tour of a traditional village led by the lovely chief. Given the lack of tourism in the area, and the well-established relationship between the Bilikiki and the local communities, every experience or encounter felt genuine and without any of that nagging guilt, we, as foreigners, often feel when we engage with the local residents like this. ![Rows of leather sandals and belts laid out on a blue cloth at a seaside market, with people and a shoreline in the background. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1028681.jpg) **How to Snorkel the Solomon Islands** While there are some small home-stays and resorts, we feel the best way to snorkel the Solomon Islands is via the Bilikiki Liveaboard. First, arriving at the resorts and homestays adds a whole other logistical layer to your already quite extensive travel itinerary. In order to access these places, you’ll need to catch small puddle-jumper planes followed by boat rides. After flying to Australia and then to Honiara, the last thing you want to do is get on an even smaller plane, followed by a boat. With the Bilikiki, you arrive in Honiara and board the vessel conveniently from the port next to the hotel. ![A group of adults on a blue boat deck raising glasses in a toast, with water and green hills in the background. The Snorkel Venture logo is visible in the sky. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1074750.jpg) Another reason why we are so pro-liveaboard is that liveaboards offer so much flexibility to move around unfavorable weather and to adapt to the marine life. Not to mention, you get to see a much bigger area of the Solomon Islands, not just the area ten to thirty minutes around the resort. It’s so lovely waking up to new scenery each and every morning. **Categories:** Destinations, On Tour, Trip Reports **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, island, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, solomon, solomons, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Alor & The Forgotten Islands Snorkel Safari 2025 - Trip Report](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/11/03/alor-the-forgotten-islands-snorkel-safari-2025/) **Published:** November 3, 2025 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** Hello Snorkel Venturers, Lydia here, the newest recruit to the SV family. A few weeks have now passed since we returned from ten days cruising through the [Banda Sea](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/07/23/banda-sea-snorkel-guide/) on our own floating bubble of snorkeling bliss. We were on board the beautiful *Mermaid II*, the perfect vessel for a comfortable voyage through the Banda Sea, from [Alor](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) to the [Forgotten Islands.](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/forgotten-islands-misool-amira-liveaboard/) Being on a boat for the better part of two weeks, with no worries in the world other than identifying that pesky fish that doesn’t quite match anything in the ID book, was the ultimate recipe for relaxation. It felt like we had left the world behind, as if we were the lone survivors on planet Earth, on a mission to discover the secrets of the Banda Sea. [**Alor** ](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/06/02/featured-house-reef-alami-alor-indonesia/) Our first three days were spent in Alor, where the Pantar Strait became our snorkeling playground, offering endless sites to choose from. I had heard of the legendary Indonesian currents that bring so much marine life to the area, but witnessing them firsthand was something else. These currents bring nutrient-rich water up from the depths, attracting large planktivorous species such as the famous Mola Mola. So, each morning, as we made our way through the passage en route to sheltered snorkeling sites, we stood on deck observing the power of the currents as whirlpools formed out of nowhere, dolphins cruised by, and [Mola Mola](https://snorkelventure.com/?s=mola+mola) breached in the distance. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1026609-1024x682.jpg) Due to these currents, the diversity of life in Alor is mind-blowing. As we slowly drifted over coral in every color of the rainbow, I felt overwhelmed, not knowing where to look first. The sites varied from shallow reefs to steep walls and sandy [muck sites](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/22/what-is-muck-snorkeling/). Some of my favorite moments included spotting my first leafy scorpionfish — so well camouflaged and algae-like that it was hard to believe it was truly a fish. Drifting next to a wall that plummeted hundreds of meters below was equally thrilling. The mystery of a wall will never get old; it makes me wish I could grow gills and swim all the way to the bottom. Finally, the muck sites were a treasure trove of rare critters such as the short-tailed pipefish, [giant frogfish](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/08/13/the-weird-and-wonderful-frogfish/), and my personal favorite, the great seahorse. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1050248-1024x682.jpg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1050411-1024x682.jpg) Being close to land also meant we occasionally got to interact with the locals. Fishermen, equipped with nothing more than homemade wooden traps, fished nearby as we snorkeled. Children paddled over in makeshift styrofoam-box boats, using shoes as paddles to say hello, while local women approached in small boats to sell their beautifully handmade textiles. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/Still-2025-11-03-211751_4.1.1.jpg) **Forgotten Islands** The time had come to leave our sheltered mooring in Alor and head out into the open ocean toward the Forgotten Islands — a 1,000 km-long chain of exceptionally biodiverse islands between Timor and West Papua. We were full of anticipation and excitement for the mystery ahead; it truly felt like an expedition of discovery. We traveled through the night, so each morning as we rolled out of our cabins to our first breakfast of the day (yes, there were two breakfasts!!), it felt like Christmas, with a new island full of ocean gifts to unwrap. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DJI_20250928083306_0001_D-1024x683.jpg) Each day, we snorkeled three to four sites, spending over an hour at each one. The only reason to get back on board was the delicious, never-ending food waiting for us between snorkels. Due to the remoteness of the Forgotten Islands, the aggregation of species ranged from tiny reef critters to huge pelagic fish. In the shallows, we came across an array of eel species such as the ribbon eel and the giant moray, peering at us with wary eyes. Scorpionfish tried their best to remain hidden, though our incredible *Mermaid II* guides could spot even the best camouflaged creatures. As we drifted deeper, huge schools of red-toothed triggerfish and fusiliers appeared, and occasionally, out in the blue, a pelagic tuna, barracuda, or Napoleon wrasse would swoop by, taking us by surprise. A unique highlight of the Forgotten Islands was our day at Manuk, a volcanic island famous for its sea snakes. Once you overcome the initial adrenaline rush of seeing a snake swim vertically to the surface to breathe, you become mesmerized watching them glide through the reef, poking their heads under coral in search of prey. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1051084-1024x682.jpg) **Banda Islands** We slowly island-hopped our way to the Banda Islands, which was both exciting and slightly nerve-wracking, we were about to burst our on-board bubble and set foot on land for the first time in a week! That feeling quickly faded as we pulled into Banda Neira and hopped off the boat for an evening of beers and giggles at a nearby colonial restaurant. As we sat overlooking the stunning Banda Neira bay, bliss had truly set in — none of us wanted the trip to end. The conditions during our time at the Bandas were ideal, with almost no wind or swell, creating some of the most relaxed snorkeling experiences of my life. You know that feeling of losing track of time and space as you float through silky water, a gentle current carrying you effortlessly along? That was the Bandas. We were in snorkeling heaven! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1051710-1024x682.jpg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/DJI_20250930095423_0031_D-1024x683.jpg) We spent a morning on land, walking through the streets of Banda Neira and up to the nutmeg plantation where we were told of the rich history of the islands and got to sample some of the local delicacies such as nutmeg jam and cinnamon straight off the tree! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1026899-1024x682.jpg) That afternoon, we snorkeled at *Lava Flow,* a site at the base of a volcano that last erupted in 1988, wiping out the nearby coral colonies as lava flowed into the sea. As a self-confessed coral nerd, I was intrigued to see how well the reef had recovered. To our delight, it turned out to be one of the most fascinating snorkels of the trip. The coral colonies were vast and diverse, with some spreading over ten meters across. Christmas tree worms sprouted from boulder corals in wild color combinations, and a few friendly turtles even stopped by to say hello. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1051401-2-1024x682.jpg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1051282-1024x682.jpg) **MELON HEAD WHALES!** On the penultimate day of the trip me and Alex were feeling rather smug with the tour so far. Little did we know it was about to get even better. As we relaxed on board in between snorkels, waiting for lunch to be served, fins started to pop up all around the boat. We were being surrounded by a super pod of melon head whales. Which, despite their very misleading name are actually a species of dolphin. We observed them for a while from the boat, as they spy hoped, rolled on to their bellies and bobbed in the water. The dolphins did not seem in a rush to leave us, so we made the call to try and swim with them. Groups of us jumped on the tenders and were dropped off near the dolphins. The mermaid crew proceeded to drive the tender in circles, enticing the dolphins to ride the bow of their boat and cruise right by us and we observed them in the water. It was an unforgettable experience as we made eye contact with the dolphins as they swam on by. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1051558-1024x682.jpg) **Life on board** I couldn’t write this report without mentioning the atmosphere on board, which truly made the trip. Our guests were always up for a laugh, engaged in the talks Alex and I gave, and eager to flip through ID books to identify every fish and coral we encountered. Each time the horn would blow to alert us of blue whales spouts on the horizon everyone would hop to attention and run out onto the bow to spot whales. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1026789-1024x682.jpg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1027011-1024x682.jpg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1027054-1024x682.jpg) We watched sunsets together and shared stories. The energy on board was matched by our wonderful *Mermaid* crew, who never failed to show enthusiasm and genuine excitement each day. I couldn’t have asked for a better trip to kick off my journey with Snorkel Venture. The Forgotten Islands should be renamed *the Unforgettable Islands!* **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life, On Tour, Trip Reports **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, Banda Sea, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, Forgotten Islands, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, snorkel, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling vacation --- ### [West Komodo & Alor Trip Report 2025](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/07/03/west-komodo-alor-trip-report-2025/) **Published:** July 3, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Our [West Komodo & Alor Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-alor-snorkel-safari/), with Kalimaya and Alami, is one of our newer resort-based snorkel safaris, and we just wrapped our first few tours through these incredible and remote locations. Here’s a little look at how they went. More specifically, here’s how the West Komodo/Kalimaya portion of the trip went! ### **Kalimaya** Kalimaya is a hidden gem, tucked away in a small bay in eastern [Sumbawa](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/). We were lucky in that our group had the whole resort to themselves. Not that additional guests would have been an inconvenience at all, as the resort takes a maximum of twenty guests, and our group was fifteen. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DJI_20250520162247_0027_D.jpg) **Arrival Day** Upon arrival at the resort around 2 pm, we were treated to a delicious butterfly pea flower tea as our welcome drink, which was a welcome refreshment after our two-hour car ride from the Bima Airport. We were then served a delicious chef-prepared lunch, before which, the chef comes to the table and introduced each dish about to be served. Post lunch, we settled into our beachfront bungalows, got a tour of the lush grounds, and then settled into the comfortable loungers set around the beachside pool. We had intended to jump in on the house reef, but the winds at the time were quite high and the waves stirred up the sand, making a house reef snorkel session quite a bumpy one, not to mention a very murky one. We weren’t bothered, though, we had cold drinks and an incredible view of the ocean. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1020078.jpg) **Day to Day** Each day started with a breakfast served at 7 am, followed by our boat ride to the different snorkeling sites departing at 8 am. The travel time to the different islands ranged from forty minutes to one hour. We had two dedicated speedboats for our group, both of which had a dry interior with a small marine toilet and were equipped with plenty of drinking water, soft drinks, and snacks! Even though we had unusually strong winds and large waves for all but one of the days on the water, the boats were more than comfortable and capable of safely shuttling us from place to place. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DJI_20250523091259_0023_D.jpg) Now, having seen the wind forecast in the days leading up to the tour, I was anxious to see if the snorkeling sites would be accessible to us, but was soon comforted by the fact that the winds in this area tend to come from the south-south east direction and many of the best snorkeling sites are on the north or north west of the islands, not to mention in protected bays. After our bumpy journey to the snorkeling sites, the group was gifted flat, calm waters to snorkel in for as long as we liked! I would also like to quickly add that the winds we experienced were very out of character for the time of year that we were there. This year, wherever we’ve been on tour, has been quite unusual with weather. Nature, am I right!? ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1010011.jpg) Given the longer travel times to the snorkeling sites, we decided to do two nice long snorkeling sessions each morning. With the reefs as vast as they are in the West Komodo area, we were easily able to do two ninety-minute-plus snorkels, punctuated by a little time in between to grab a snack or drink in order to fuel up for the next mighty snorkel session. We would then return to the resort for around 1:30 or 2 pm, enjoy a leisurely lunch, followed by siestas and poolside banter. The house reef is always available; however, given the windy conditions, we chose to enjoy the pool and relax after many hours of morning snorkeling. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DJI_20250519093051_0008_D.jpg) **The Reefs** I was thrilled to see how vast and dense the reefs are in this part of Komodo. While the east of Komodo, the more widely explored area, has some seriously pretty reefs, the reefs here in West Komodo were even more impressive. It seems like everywhere we went, we would jump in to find stunning hard coral reefs teeming with life, and then find that this continues for the entire coastline. In a lot of places around the world, when you swim up towards the beach or the waterline, the health of the corals starts to visibly deteriorate as a result of low tide lines and the wave action, but not here. All the places we visited had reefs that were just as robust and beautiful right up to the waterline! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1009799.jpg) **Marine Life** The marine life was just as much of a surprise as the reefs were. We had all the usual suspects that you’d expect to find in Komodo, from large crocodile fish, scorpionfish, many nudibranchs, a lot of the beautiful juvenile fish species like sweetlips and angelfish. We also had several mantas passing through one of the shallow cleaning stations, as well as several turtle encounters, and quite a few sea snakes! The biggest surprise, though, was the amount and density of some of the colonies–more like mountains–of anemones. They were huge, and in just about every reef we found one of these unusually large collections of anemones and their respective fishy inhabitants. Another fantastic surprise was all the blacktip reef sharks we encountered in several of the bays. In less than three feet of water, we were finding groups of sharks that numbered twenty-plus! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1010134.jpg) **The House Reef** We finally got a break in the wind towards the end of our time at Kalimaya, where we were able to jump in on the house reef. While the visibility wasn’t amazing, the experience was very much so! The reef is a mixture or hard corals and sponges mixed with volcanic sand in between. This creates the perfect habitat for juvenile fish and creatures such as scorpionfish, lionfish, nudibranchs, moray eels, octopus, and peacock mantis shrimp…all of which we were able to find in the two hours we spent snorkeling it! There’s also a resident school of batfish, with the juveniles hovering right next to the jetties pilings and the adults a bit further away on the reef. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1010259.jpg) **Alami Alor** While we were all sad to part ways with Kalimaya after the amazing time we all had there, it was short-lived as we were soon sitting comfortably in Alor at Alami, excited to jump in on the next leg of our snorkeling adventure. Now, I’m not going to spend too much time writing about Alami or Alor as we’ve spent the past five years running tours to this outstanding resort, and its reputation is well established in the snorkeling community by now. I will just say that our time in Alor was pretty mind-boggling as our first day on the water gave us a pod a melon-headed whales just off the bow of the boats, followed by a pair of blue whales a couple of hundred meters from the resort’s jetty! In water experiences included the mysterious mola mola, another large school of blacktip reef sharks, followed shortly by a feeding eagle ray in the shallows, multiple frogfish, a pair or robust ghost pipefish, seven different seahorses, Mandarinfish, Spanish dancers, moray eels, and so much more! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DJI_20250531172439_0006_D-Enhanced-NR.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations, On Tour, Trip Reports **Tags:** Alami Alor Resort, Alor and Komodo, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, indonesia snorkeling, Komodo, komodo resort, reef, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography --- ### [Mexico Sardine Run Trip Report](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/12/18/mexico-sardine-run-trip-report/) **Published:** December 18, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** **Mexico Sardine Run Trip Report** At the end of November 2025, I had the very good fortune of being able to visit Mexico’s Baja California for a rare moment in time, when some of the ocean’s most enigmatic species come together to hunt. For about six weeks each year, species like the California sea lion, striped marlin, dorado, Bryde’s whales, and humpback whales all converge just outside this magnificent little bay called Magdalena Bay, to hunt the shoals of mackerel and sardines that congregate here, starting from around October to December. As most of these species are pelagic ocean wanderers, it’s nearly impossible to predictably encounter them on your average snorkeling trip. However, as the sea lions, marlins, whales, and other ocean predators are all drawn into this relatively small area by the dense bait balls, we snorkelers have a rare opportunity to swim alongside these magestical creatures and bear witness to them in all their glory as they prey on the tiny fish. As this is a very unique tour for us, one in which we will be running in November 2027, I wanted to get out to Mexico and experience it for myself so we can paint a much better picture of what to expect with our Mexican Sardine Run, through photos, videos, and only the most eloquent wordage. Now, I’ve already done quite a bit of posting about the tour on the Facebook and Instagram as I was partaking in it. For those of you who are lucky enough not to be on either of these apps, I hope this trip report suffices as a vehicle for absorption of all things relating to our Mexico Sardine Run! **Magdalena Bay** Magdalena Bay–Mag Bay for short–is a really quite large bay that sits on the Pacific coast of Mexico’s Baja California, and what fuels the Sardine Run as the bay’s nutrient-rich waters flow into the mighty Pacific Ocean. This bay has become very famous for its friendly gray whales, which have been known to come right up to boats and lift their head right out of the water as if to peer inside. It’s also well known for the delicious seafood, and in the last few years, it’s become well internationally recognized as the best place in the world to swim alongside striped marlin. Mag Bay is where we’ll be based for the duration of this tour, in a small fishing village called San Carlos, our gateway to the Sardine Run! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/DJI_20251206010756_0015_D.jpg) **The Day to Day** Our days on this tour start quite early, as we typically depart San Carlos by six-thirty in the morning after a light breakfast at our cozy little hotel. We’ll jump into our panga and then make our way across the bay to the north or south mouth, depending on where the action has been taking place. This crossing takes about an hour, but is a stunning and very beautiful way to start the day as you cruise past massive floating rafts of pelicans and are intermittently escorted by pods of bottlenose or Pacific white-sided dolphins. This is all while the sun is rising over the rugged landscape surrounding us. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DJI_20251202223026_0036_D.jpg) As we exit the bay, this is when we change into our wetsuits, and the hunt for the birds begins. We use flocks of birds as indicators for where the bait balls are, as they are also here to feed on the schools of fish. Finding the birds and bait balls can take anywhere from five minutes to an hour or so, typically. There’s never a dull moment, though, as this is also humpback whale season, so you’re routinely treated to their mighty exhales and breaching bodies. Once we find the birds, it’s now time to find a nice static bait ball. Typically, there are a number of bait balls in the area. Some will be zipping around in an attempt to avoid the predators, while others will more or less remain in a static position, with the small fish trying to retreat further inside the dense ball of fish, while the birds, striped marlin, sea lions, and anything else that’s hungry come in for a mouthful. Needless to say, these static bait balls are much easier to stay with, and with a good one, we can sit with the action for up to forty minutes or so! Once the baitball has been reduced to a glittery wash of scales, we jump out and search for the next one! This will be our routine for the day. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/P1068035.jpg) While the main goal for each day is to get in the water with the bait balls and the action that they cultivate, we’re also on the lookout for other species like orcas, dolphins, and even fleets of mobula rays, all of which we will try to get in the water with if we happen to come across any of these beauties! We aim to be back at San Carlos before five in the PM, giving us enough time to relax at the hotel before our group dinner prepared by our private chef. **The Underwater Experience** The experience underwater is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before in all my time as a diver or snorkeler. To see so many different species come together just a few feet in front of you in one magnificent display of nature’s true majesty is nothing short of breathtaking. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/P1067138.jpg) When the captain gives the “OK,” and you jump into the clear blue water, you can be immediately greeted by the iridescent bodies of the marlin and the underwater acrobatics of the sea lions as they collect around the bait ball. Other times, you might have to swim a few meters to get to where the action is taking place. Once you arrive, the group lines up on one side of the bait ball, and you just watch the ballet of predator and prey unfold before your eyes. The sea lions and birds will belt the bait ball from the top side, while the marlin will collect beneath the small fish and then take turns, flashing their neon scales to indicate that they’re going in for a mouthful. When a marlin comes up, it’s pure magic. They beat their powerful tail from side to side and shoot through the bait ball at an incredible speed, slashing their sword-like bills in an attempt to skewer or stun one or more of the bait fish. They’ll then whip around to grab the incapacitated fish before the sealions are able to. One baitball can have anywhere from a few sealions and a handful of marlins to forty-plus marlins and a dozen sea lions. On some bait balls, we were even able to see dorados and some giant wahoo. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/P1066310.jpg) The scene I just described above is for the bait balls dominated by marlin and sea lions. There is another type of bait ball, which we can also encounter, dominated by skipjack tuna and again by sea lions. Get used to sea lions, they’re everywhere! Anywho, these types of bait balls are also just as exhilarating, especially when the hundreds of torpedo-like tuna shoot through the ball of bait fish in a flurry of bubble trains and scales. When the bonito come through, the energy in the water is palpable. There is a third type of bait ball which you can experience, but please don’t come expecting it to happen, as moments like this are really quite rare and can’t be planned for. That being said, I want to describe it as we were supremely lucky and found one within thirty minutes of changing into our wetsuits. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/P1066205.jpg) We’d just jumped in with our first bait ball, which was being controlled by about thirty sea lions, a pod of dolphins, the sea birds, and about a bazillion skipjack tuna who were relentlessly blasting the bait ball from beneath. After about thirty minutes of watching this action, gobsmacked at what we were seeing, out of nowhere, a humpback whale rose up from beneath us and took a massive gulp of the schooling mackerel. We thought the whale had left, but it came back several more times, each time taking more and more of the scared little fish with its gaping mouth. For me, it was the greatest moment I’ve ever had in the water. A scene as you’d see on one of the BBC’s underwater documentaries, but it was happening just inches from your face. It was unbelievable! **Other Activities** While the bulk of our time is spent in search of or swimming with open ocean beauties like sea lions and striped marlin, we do indulge in a few other activities. For example, there’s a stunning set of sand dunes fringed by mangroves that we’ll visit one morning. Here, you can see a unique array of bird life and terrestrial life, like coyotes who’ve adapted to life in the dunes. We’ll also likely take the boat through some other beautiful coastal areas where you can spot the southernmost bald eagles in the world. Finally, there’s a really fantastic sea lion colony right off the shore where we can swim amongst hundreds of these playful acrobats! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DJI_20251204224706_0126_D.jpg) **Sea and Weather Conditions** The sea and weather conditions around Magdalena Bay can be on the cooler side of things, especially when compared to our more tropical snorkeling destinations like Indonesia, Palau, and the Solomon Islands. The water temperature can range from 22 °C to 24 °C, which is around 71 °F to 76 °F. Air temperatures are around 25 °C or 77°F, with lows around 19 °C or 65 °F, in the mornings and evenings. As we’re on the boat all day, there is also a steady breeze, which makes things feel a bit cooler. A good 3-5mm wetsuit is strongly recommended, as is a fleece-lined waterproof jacket for the morning rides out. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DJI_20251204044610_0061_D.jpg) Where sea conditions are concerned, don’t expect flat calm water. The Pacific can be a bit windy, which does present some surface chop. In the water, it’s fine, you just sort of rock and roll with it. You probably won’t even notice it as you’ll be so focused on the action in front of you. On the boat, however, especially when we’re going into the waves, it can make for a more bumpy ride. **Day-to-Day Physicality** As the bait balls can be quite unpredictable in their movement patterns, there can be a fair amount jumping into the water only to climb out shortly after. The same thing goes for when and if we encounter species like orcas or mobula rays. While the ladders are great on the boat with nice, wide wooden steps, the in and out can add up if you’re not used to this type of activity. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/P1028107.jpg) This trip is all about spending as much time on the water so as to maximize our chances of encountering those magical moments. With that in mind, you really need to be mentally and physically prepared to spend the day at sea. If you’re prone to sea sickness, you should definitely procure some tablets, bands, or patches well in advance. Similarly, you should anticipate how comfortable you are on a bumpy boat. For example, if you have back issues, a bumpy boat might not be the best thing for you. **The Food** If you like authentic Mexican food, you won’t be disappointed on this trip! Our breakfasts and dinners will be prepared by our own chef, who will cater to our group exclusively. These meals will be served family style at the hotel’s cozy restaurant. That being said, we are in a remote region of Baja California, and catering to specific dietary needs, like gluten-free or even vegetarian dishes, can be tricky and might not always be possible. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/DJI_20251205021128_0141_D.jpg) Our lunches will be onboard the boat, and as you can imagine, they are relatively simple, but plenty filling! Onboard, we’ll have the famous snack box, which is full of chips, peanuts, granola bars, fresh-baked cookies, and much more. There’s also fresh fruit available, and another big box full of freshly made beef or chicken burritos. You won’t go hungry! **The Hotel** San Carlos is a small town that really doesn’t have the normal demand for tourism; as such, hotels are much more modest. The hotel we stay at, Hotel Alcatraz, is by far the best in the area, and really quite comfortable. It’s basic, but it has nice hot water showers, ceiling fans, plenty of space, wifi, and comfortable beds. After a long day on the water, it’s everything you could want. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Hotel-Alcatraz-Baja-Mexico.jpg) **Final Thoughts** First and foremost, this adventure-fueled trip is one that could quite easily deliver you those underwater moments that you could only dream of witnessing. That being said, I will quite decisively say that this tour isn’t for everyone. This tour is for those of you looking for a real adventure where anything is possible, and you’re more than comfortable with the different elements of the tour that I’ve described above, like cooler sea and air temperatures, long days on the boat, choppier conditions, and the physical demands of getting in and out of the water repeatedly throughout the day. If all of this sounds completely doable and just another part of the adventure, this trip could very well be the single best trip you’ve ever been on. I know it was for me, and I’m so excited to have it finally fun in [January 2027](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/mexico-sardine-run/)! **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life, On Tour, Trip Reports **Tags:** best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, cabo, Mexico, sardine, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, Snorkeling Cameras, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography, whales, women snorkeling --- ### [Triton Bay and Raja Ampat Trip Report – February 2026](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/03/05/triton-bay-and-raja-ampat-trip-report-february-2026/) **Published:** March 5, 2026 **Author:** Dalton Hopper **Content:** This trip is a story with two different chapters: Triton Bay in Kaimana, followed by [Papua Explorers Resort](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/12/featured-house-reef-papua-explorers/) in Raja Ampat. I was lucky enough to have taken this exact trip in 2025, so I arrived knowing exactly what was coming. I’m not sure that made me calmer, and if anything, I was probably more excited than the other lucky snorkelers. We were heading into the heart of the Coral Triangle, home to over 75% of the world’s coral species and more reef fish species than anywhere else on the planet. And yes, mantas, wobbegongs, and [whale sharks](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/06/05/snorkeling-with-indonesias-gentle-giants/) were all on the cards, but I don’t want to get ahead of myself. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/P2088333-1024x769.jpg) **[Triton Bay](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) – West Papua The journey is not short. A group dinner in Jakarta, a night flight to Sorong, followed by a quick transfer to Kaimana, and breakfast at a hotel while waiting for the boat. Then the final transfer across calm water toward a thin line of jungle that slowly becomes your home. The arrival at Triton Bay feels cinematic, landing on a small private beach with eight rooms, a restaurant, and a snorkel center, all surrounded by lush green foliage. Limestone islands rise out of still water in every direction. It is everything you hope for when arriving at a remote beach resort. Day Zero is technically for settling in with lunch, orientation, and unpacking. We lasted about an hour before someone asked, “Can we get in?” The house reef was the obvious answer. For those who had never snorkeled in Indonesia before, that first drop is a special moment. Hard corals stacked in layers hosted anemonefish tucked into their homes. A tight school of jacks spinning like a slow underwater tornado right off the beach. Butterflyfish and angelfish were everywhere we looked. Bluespotted rays lifted off the sand as we drifted over them. Even a resident wobbegong can be found relaxing on the house reef. But that was just the warm-up. **Day 1 – Color, Texture, and Slowing Down** Our first full day was spent exploring nearby sites. The kind where coral gardens slope gently into deeper water and walls glow in purples and oranges depending on the angle of the sun. Little Komodo is definitely one site not to miss. Hard coral fields stretch across the shallows before dropping away into deeper blue. Purple soft corals cling to the walls, and there are feather stars in ridiculous numbers, with more colors and shapes than I can remember seeing anywhere else. You stop trying to catalog them and just accept that every patch of reef seems to have its own palette. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/P2088401-1024x769.jpg) Then we reached a sandy section dotted with yellow sponges, and that’s my signal to slow down and look for one of my favorite fish. At three meters, sitting almost perfectly still and blending in with the sponge beside it, was a bright yellow frogfish. If you weren’t looking carefully, you’d swim straight past. Perfectly camouflaged, with its trademark slightly grumpy expression, it was completely unbothered by us hovering nearby. Frogfish are patient hunters who wait and use a small lure to draw prey in. When the strike comes, it’s over in a fraction of a second. Watching one at eye level in clear, shallow water is a gift. It even shuffled around with that odd half-walk they do, which made for some cool shots with my trusty OM System TG-7. It felt like an absurdly good start to a trip that was supposed to build gradually. **Day 2 – [The Bagans](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/06/26/snorkeling-with-triton-bays-whale-sharks/)** This is the main event we came here to experience. We left before sunrise and headed toward the bagans, traditional wooden fishing platforms used at night to attract anchovies and sardines with lights. Where you find baitfish in huge numbers, other things eventually turn up. In Triton Bay, that means whale sharks. The local fishermen consider their presence good luck. They leave some baitfish in the water, and knowing this, the sharks return regularly. It’s a quiet, symbiotic relationship that’s been going on for decades. The area falls within the Kaimana Marine Protected Area, and interactions are monitored by several organizations, including Conservation International, to ensure all visits remain responsible and ethical. We were the only group in the entire area, and two whale sharks stayed with us for three hours. Not circling once and disappearing, but three full hours of slow, deliberate feeding beneath the bagans. Hoovering up baitfish, then rolling slightly as they adjusted position, they would pass right next to us and then loop back again. I’ve seen whale sharks many times over the last twenty-plus years. Most encounters are fleeting, consisting of a brief swim past, and then they’re gone. This was completely different. A prolonged, unhurried, humbling experience and truly a life-changing event. Looking into the eye of a whale shark is a feeling you will never forget. You feel less like a spectator and more like someone who has been temporarily allowed into their routine. At some point, you stop trying to take the perfect photo and just watch. As you can imagine, I am still editing the hundreds of photos and videos these gentle giants provided. Three hours sounds excessive until you’re there. Then it feels short. And while most of the attention was understandably on the sharks, dolphins were weaving through the scene the entire time. Surveying the scene, snacking on missed baitfish, and vocalizing constantly beneath us, you could hear them as clearly as you could see them. It was chaotic in the best way. By the time we climbed back into the boats, the group was quiet in that particular way that only happens after something genuinely special. No exaggeration needed. Just processing. Triton Bay truly lives up to its tagline: “Remote but worth it.” ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/P2098773-1024x769.jpg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/P2098653-1024x769.jpg) **Day 3 – Filling in the Gaps** After the intensity of the bagans, the following day felt almost meditative. We explored more local sites with walls and coral gardens, ticking off species we’d hoped to see. We drifted into one bay that was littered with dozens of the unfortunately named “boring clams,” in every conceivable color. And then we found the famous walking shark, endemic to West Papua and [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/), which walks on the seafloor with its pectoral fins. Seeing one calmly resting in two meters of water, in daylight, was unexpectedly satisfying. A brief reminder that some of the most interesting animals here aren’t the largest ones. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/P2108922-1024x769.jpg) **Papua Explorers Resort – Raja Ampat Returning to Sorong, we took a private boat transfer into the Dampier Strait in north Raja Ampat. Here, on the island of Gam, is the idyllic eco-resort that would become our home for the next week: Papua Explorers Resort. Arriving at Papua Explorers is unforgettable. The jetty is lined with locals singing, providing a very moving welcome. The bungalows are spacious, built on stilts using local, sustainable materials in traditional Papuan design, overlooking the water toward Mansuar and Kri Island. We had six full days of snorkeling here, twice in the morning and another session in the afternoon. To be honest, the days blurred into each other as we visited 18 different sites, each offering a new and different experience. **The Mangroves** I am lucky enough to visit this area several times each year, and the mangroves hold a special place in my heart. When I saw it was high tide on the first morning, it was a simple choice; we would open this chapter in the mangroves. This is a very different experience from snorkeling on a reef. Soft light trickles through the branches, creating a beautiful aesthetic, and the life you find here is fascinating. The entire area acts as a nursery for juvenile fish, and you regularly find friendly batfish following you as you disappear into giant balls of fusiliers. It is also a great place to encounter cuttlefish, turtles, and even mobulas cruising by in the blue. And the calmness of the area, with only the sound of birds overhead, is a very cool introduction to Raja Ampat. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/P2128979-1024x769.jpg) **Fam Islands** The best weather of our stay was forecast for day 2, so it was another easy decision. We headed to the Fam Islands, a stunning and remote group of islands renowned for the iconic Piaynemo viewpoint, offering one of the most recognizable views in Raja Ampat. After a gentle hike to admire the landscape from above, we snorkeled at Fam Wall, where gorgonian sea fans adorn the walls and vibrant hard and soft corals flourish below. The sites here are stunning. Batu Rufus in particular offers fields of hard corals sparkling with thousands of chromis in the sunlight. **Sawandarek Village and Arborek** One of the highlights of our morning routine was the snack-time surface interval between snorkels. Sitting together with amazing pastries and banana chips while sipping hot tea, it’s hard not to wonder whether life gets much better than this. We often stopped at one of the local villages, homestays, or jetties, where you get a glimpse of daily life. Coincidentally, the jetties in front of the villages provide shelter for fish, and they always seem less shy here than when you meet them out on the reef. At Sawandarek, we met some of the largest resident turtles in Raja Ampat, along with schools of fusiliers, jacks, and the beautiful oriental and diagonal-banded sweetlips. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/P2129113-1024x769.jpg) **Manifesting a Manta-fest** While mantas can be seen here year-round, there are no guarantees. Fortunately, we found them on our first visit to Manta Ridge. The current can be strong here, so we entered the water and drifted with it alongside our trusty guides until we encountered several reef mantas. This included a few “ninjas,” the rare black melanistic individuals occasionally seen in Indonesia. **Endless Stunning Reefs** The sites mentioned above only scratch the surface of what we experienced at Papua Explorers. Underwater, we ticked nearly every species box we had hoped to find. But some of the moments above water were equally memorable. We watched banded sea kraits mating on the jetty while sipping beers at sunset. A cuscus sheltered from the rain in the restaurant rafters during dinner. Dolphins played in the boat’s wake as we traveled between islands. And one evening, children from the nearby village arrived in traditional dress to sing and dance with us after dinner. Eventually, as it always does, the week came to an end. We enjoyed one final scenic ride back to port, sharing stories and replaying our favorite moments. And just when we thought the journey was winding down, a whale breached several times beside the boat. It was Raja Ampat’s way of delivering one final reminder. Triton Bay and Papua Explorers, thank you for a truly memorable trip. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/P2169478-1024x769.jpg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/P2169512-1024x769.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations, On Tour, Trip Reports **Tags:** Best places to snorkel, coral reef, papua Explorers, raja ampat, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel raja ampat, Snorkel Venture, Snorkel West Papua, snorkeling vacation, snorkelling with whale sharks --- ### [WhatApp on Tour](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/06/19/whatapp-on-tour/) **Published:** June 19, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** WhatsApp is arguably one of the most useful apps you could ever use when you’re traveling. You can video call anyone anywhere in the world, you can send photos, videos, voice messages, ‘text’ messages called “WhatsApps”, you can send locations, and of course, you can send emojis and stickers! The best thing about all of this is that this is free regardless of what your mobile carrier is or what type of phone you have, all you need to have is a wifi signal or internet data. More importantly, though, EVERYONE uses it outside of the States. Hotels, taxi drivers, YOUR SNORKEL VENTURE GUIDES, resorts…everyone. If you need any sort of assistance before the trip, during your journey to the destination, and whilst you are on the trip, WhatsApp is the vehicle of voice that is going to get you the quickest response to anything that you may need. **WhatsApp Groups** Us tour leaders use WhatsApp religiously on tour. The first thing we do before a tour starts is to create a WhatsApp group so we can introduce ourselves and pass any essential information onto you all easily. On tour, things like flights times or meal times might change and a quick message to the group is the easiest way for us to pass on this info without having to run around to everyone’s rooms and interrupt your downtime between snorkels. The airlines are going paperless over here in Indonesia, among other places, and after we’ve checked the group in for the flights we can easily pass the boarding passes onto you with a quick message. If you don’t have WhatsApp, getting you your boarding pass is a bit cumbersome. This group is also a great place for everyone to exchange and post photos at the end of each day. **Issues with other Messaging Platforms** We are well aware that WhatsApp is not a big thing in the States of the United as most people tend to communicate through text messages or use apps like Facetime and iMessage. The problem with these modes of messaging and calling is that–at least once you leave the country or start to communicate with people outside your bubble of friends–people won’t receive your messages or calls. Text messages are only good if you have a phone signal and the person your sending text’s to are are also using a US mobile provider like Verizon or T-Mobile. If you were to land in Jakarta, for example, and needed to communicate with your Snorkel Venture tour leader to let us know that you’ll be late for the group dinner—or something like that—and you try to send us a text message using the phone number given to you on your tour documents, we won’t receive it, even if you have phone signal. Due to cross-border restrictions, it’s very likely that SMS notification will not reach anyone once you’ve left the States. With WhatsApp, all you need to do is log into the free wifi at the airport, or just use your own 5G if you have roaming on your phone, and you can call us or message us for free. iMessage and Facetime work—or don’t work—in a similar fashion. If you were to try to do the same thing with with Facetime or iMessage, it’s also very likely we won’t receive the message or call from you as Facetime and iMessage are only really supported by Apple devices and a lot of people use android devices. Also, very few people have these apps set up on their phones outside of the States as most people just don’t use them, everyone uses WhatsApp. It’s also very likely you’ll incur a roaming fee with iMessage, on-top of your message not being delivered. There are a bunch of other great features with WhatsApp that make it far more user-friendly than iMessage, Facetime, or Text Messaging, like the fact that you are not limited by the number of characters you can type, or the fact that you can actually see if the message arrives to the person you’re sending it to, and finally it’s one of the most secure messaging platforms out there with its end-to-end encryption. **Installing WhatsApp is Easy** Trust me, I know how annoying it is to get familiar with a new app. Learning new tech things are one of my least favorite things to do. However, as far as apps go, this one is very simple to use. Once you’ve downloaded it on your phone it take just a couple quick steps to setup and then it basically just works like a normal phone does. - - Download the app from the App Store - Open the app and tap “**Agree and Continue**” - Select the “**Allow**” button so WhatsApp can send you notifications when you receive messages or calls - Choose your country (**the one where you live, not the one you’re traveling to**), and then type in your mobile phone number. - Tap “**Next**” - Tap “**OK**” to confirm your number - WhatsApp will send you a text message, open the text message and enter the **6-digit** code - Tap “**Allow**” to give WhatsApp access to your contacts. - *WhatsApp will go through your contacts and then automatically add them to your WhatsApp contact list. When you open the app and go to your contacts, all of those contacts are people who have WhatsApp and you can communicate with* - - If you plan on sending photos to people then select “**Allow**” so you can send videos and photos to people from your phone’s photo albums - *You don’t need to give the app access to your photos, but it does help and makes it much easier to send photos and videos to people* - Type your name in the Profile Info, if you want to include a photo you can as well - Tap “**Next**” - You’re done! All you have to do now is go into your contact list by pressing the little green **+** button in the top right of your screen and start messaging people. Anytime you want to add a new contact, such as your Snorkel Venture tour leader, just add the contact the same way you always would, you don’t need to do it in the app. It is for these reasons and many other that **we urge all of our guests to download and install WhatsApp on their mobile devices** **before leaving the country.** It’s our main method of communicating while we’re on tour, and we can just help you a lot quicker and easier if you have the app on your phone. **Categories:** Uncategorised **Tags:** Alami Alor Resort, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Unboxing the Olympus TG-7 Camera and Housing | Setup, Maintenance, and Settings](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/04/06/unboxing-the-olympus-tg-7-camera-and-housing-setup-maintenance-and-settings/) **Published:** April 6, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** *This video also applies to Olympus TG-6 Cameras* The Olympus TG-7 camera is easily the most popular snorkeling camera choice by our snorkeling guests. It’s compact, easy to use, waterproof right out of the box, and packs a real punch where image quality is concerned. Guests are always impressed by the beautiful natural colors this camera showcases their underwater snaps in. While the Olympus TG-7 is very easy to use, it does require a bit of setup and maintenance to achieve the colors you’re after, while also maintaining the camera’s overall health. This video will walk you through everything you’ll need to know about getting this camera and housing up, maintaining the camera and housing, and what settings we recommend for the best results for shooting underwater! **Categories:** Equipment, Photography, Tips & Advice --- ### [Snorkel For Good in 2025](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/02/09/snorkel-for-good-in-2025/) **Published:** February 9, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** In 2025, our ocean adventures carried us across the globe, from swimming alongside humpback whales in the Dominican Republic to drifting beside towering walls of coral in the Banda Sea. It has been an extraordinary year in the water! Yet 2025 has also been a challenging year for the ocean. As climate change progresses we are seeing evidence of its impacts globally. We feel incredibly fortunate to visit places where life remains abundant and ecosystems continue to thrive, and we believe that privilege comes with responsibility. That belief is why we created [**Snorkel for Good**](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/). Since 2023, every single guest who has joined us on tour has snorkeled for good! For each of our bookings, $100 is donated directly to one of our trusted charity partners: organizations working hard to protect marine life and ocean ecosystems. In 2025 alone, thanks to each and every one of our guests, we were able to donate **$57,500 USD** to ocean conservation efforts. As we look ahead to another year of exploration beneath the surface, we pause to reflect on 2025 and how these funds have helped our charity partners continue to advocate for the places we love. [**Manta Trust** ](https://www.mantatrust.org) Manta Trust is a conservation charity dedicated to protecting manta and devil rays worldwide. Known collectively as mobulid rays, all ten species are currently classified as endangered as a result of their overexploitation. Their greatest threat comes from poaching, driven by demand for their gill plates, used in traditional Chinese medicine, and their fins, which are sold at high value prices in countless fish markets. 2025 marked a major milestone for manta conservation. Manta Trust launched its **\#SaveTheMantas** campaign and successfully secured the highest level of protection for all manta and devil ray species under CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora). This landmark legislation makes it internationally illegal to harvest or sell any mobulid ray products. This monumental step forward gives us hope for a future where mobulid populations are thriving across all oceans and seeing a manta ray glide past us on a snorkel is not such a rare occasion. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Team-Headshots_Azores_2025_Jasmine-Corbett-17-1024x683.jpg) [**Misool Foundation** ](https://www.misoolfoundation.org) The Misool Foundation has transformed what was once a shark-finning camp into a 300,000-acre marine reserve at the heart of Raja Ampat, where biomass has increased by 248% since its establishment in 2007. Every year, the Misool Foundation continues to safeguard the Raja Ampat coral reefs, and 2025 was no exception. **Misool Foundation’s 2025 by Numbers:** - **25,953 coral fragments** planted - **1,241 m² of Reef Restored** - **51,457 kg of Recyclables and Waste** collected through our Community Recycling Program - **174 lessons provided** to high school students in the local communities - **13 endangered leopard sharks** released in the Misool Marine Reserve But Misool Foundation is so much more than these numbers they understand the vital importance of community involvement in conservation. By employing locals to run projects and educating school children in environmental issues and conservation solutions they hand the power of environmental advocacy back to the community that depends on it. **The short film below, beautifully showcases this ethos: it features one of Misool Foundation’s coral gardeners Murid as he introduces his daughter, Kyra, to the reef he helps restore — a reminder that conservation is always about the future.** [**The Reef Word Foundation** ](https://reef-world.org) The Reef World Foundation bridges the gap between marine tourism and conservation by creating a framework for tourism operators to assure they are working with the environment, not against it. Financially and often personally invested marine tourism operators face an uncertain future as each year we brace for another hot summer of rising ocean temperatures and unpredictable ramifications for ocean ecosystems. The Reef World Foundation allows operators to be part of the conversation and action to assure a future for the oceans that provide their livelihoods. In 2025 they produced a **Global Coral Bleaching response toolkit** that enables marine tourism businesses to track coral bleaching at the sites they visit and report it to a global database. This platform not only supports a deeper understanding of coral responses to warming oceans, but also fosters collaboration, allowing operators to share strategies, stories, and solutions with one another. Additionally, over the past year The Reef World Foundation has been onboarding, educating and influencing businesses, policy makers, tourists and students to work, live and act sustainably. **At a time when climate response seems messy and unclear, the Reef World Foundation is helping streamline and unite our efforts, all with a shared goal: a healthy planet.** [**Thrive Conservation** ](https://thriveconservation.org) Thrive Conservation is a charity based in Indonesia, that focuses on the next generation as the key stakeholders in the future of the planet. They do this by empowering young Indonesians to address overlooked environmental issues on land and in the ocean. 2025 was a big year for Thrive Conservation with many achievements to be proud of. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/mangrove-planting-1024x768.jpg) Loss of biodiversity: the overall number of species found on the planet, is a major consequence of issues such as habitat loss, pollution and overfishing. Thrive Conservation is tackling this complex matter through a number of avenues. - Thrive is a founding and main implementing partner for StAR Project Indonesia. An initiative that is restoring shark biodiversity in our oceans by rearing, hatching and subsequently releasing Indo-Pacific leopard sharks in Raja Ampat Marine Park. **The project released 29 juvenile leopard sharks in 2025, bringing the cumulative total to over 50 since inception.** - In 2025, Thrive continued advancing with their ongoing manta ray monitoring program, conducted on and around Rote island. They successfully attached their first satellite tag on an oceanic manta ray as well as the smallest whale shark ever tagged in Indonesia, with tags programmed for 4 to 6 months. Using this data Thrive can advocate for the creation of Marine Protected Areas and consult on effective conservation measures that boost biodiversity. - Habitat restoration is a key conservation method for tackling loss of biodiversity, so in 2025 alone, Thrive has hosted community mangrove planting events, planting 670 seedlings, facilitated the training and implementation of local rangers to monitor sea turtle nesting habitat And In Lohaen, sustainable seaweed farming expanded from 11 to 20 fishers. Thrive projects are a collaboration of the entire local community. **They use community engagement to ensure the longevity and sustainability of their projects.** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Turtle-hatchling-release-1024x683.jpg) [**Bite Back** ](https://www.biteback2030.com) Bite-Back is a charity dedicated to changing the way sharks and rays are perceived by humans: not as man-eating monsters but as vitally important animals, without which the balance of our ecosystem is threatened to fall apart. In 2025 Bite-Back launched an investigation that showcases how little we know about the seafood we buy at the supermarket. Through extensive research Bite-Back is exposing the highly destructive fishing methods that lead to the death of 1000s of shark and ray species. These fishing methods are commonplace for the vessels that catch the fish we consumers buy at supermarkets on a daily basis. The potential benefit to the marine environment is enormous. **When you consider that UK households consume one million cans of tuna every single day and that only 20% of those are currently pole-and-line caught**, it means the charity has 800,000 opportunities a day to change purchasing habits—and to save countless marine animals from unnecessary death. It is very common for us not to know the source of our food and the methods used to get it to our plates. This Bite-Back campaign is one of many required to allow transparency in the way we consume. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/SV-1-1024x724.jpg) **Final Thoughts** We are immensely proud to support marine conservation programs such as these and even prouder to witness their incredible work. Looking forward to 2026, Snorkel For Good will be supporting some new and exciting conservation initiatives! To find out more about each charity and their incredible work, as well as lots more snorkeling content, keep an eye out for our [annual magazine](https://heyzine.com/flip-book/4c262e746e.html#page/1) soon to be published on our website as well as available to order! Once again a huge thank you to our Snorkel Venture community for your enthusiasm for everything ocean and for continuing to join us on tour, without which none of these donations would have been possible! **Categories:** Conservation, Marine Life --- ### [Nudibranchs - You Either Love Them Or You Really Really Love Them](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/01/20/nudibranchs-you-either-love-them-or-you-really-really-love-them/) **Published:** January 20, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** One of the many reasons the snorkeling community is so great is for their unmatched enthusiasm and intrigue for sighting wildlife of any kind. The ooooos and aaaas are just as loud for a 15 meter whale shark as they are for a 5cm slug, and honestly sometimes louder. Nudibranchs are the perfect example of this. See one of these colourful fellas out on the reef, and suddenly it’s the highlight of the snorkel. Once you’ve spotted one, you can’t wait to tell your fellow snorkelers so that they can swim over to admire your prized find. So what is so special about these multicoloured sea slugs? ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_2676-1024x683.jpg) Nudibranchs are a group of soft bodied mollusks, meaning they are a part of the extremely diverse taxonomical group that includes cuttlefish, nautilus shells, giant clams and limpets, to name a few. But unlike many of their mollusk cousins, nudibranchs lack any kind of armour or shell, they are, as their name suggests, naked. Their name derives from their anatomy as ‘Nudi’ comes from the Latin word ‘nudus’ meaning naked and ‘branch’ come from the Greek word for lungs. Their lungs, or gills, are the colourful frills decorating their backs. So if you see a tiny colourful worm with frills on its back moving rather slowly over the reef, you’re likely looking at one of 3000 nudibranch species. **Why So Colourful?** Each nudibranch has its own unique flare, they combine colour, pattern and form in every imaginable way, so that flicking through a nudibranch identification guide can feel rather psychedelic. They are truly beautiful. But being tiny, slow and rainbow coloured isn’t exactly the best tactic to staying alive on the reef, or is it? Nudibranchs use colour to their advantage in a number of ways. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/P1399210-1024x683.jpg) Some nudibranchs use colour to blend in. These species specialise in living on specific hosts such as brightly coloured sponges. The nudi will eat the sponge, uptake its colour pigments and incorporate them into its tissues so that it blends in perfectly with its home. Other species do the opposite, they will purposefully not blend in, making themselves extremely visible to passers by. This tactic is a warning for potential predators that I might be tiny but I pack a punch (aka I’m very poisonous). These colourful slugs will eat poisonous animals, uptake their toxins and become poisonous themselves. Like the *Glaucus Atlanticus*, commonly known as the blue dragon nudibranch, which preys on the extremely poisonous Portuguese Man ‘O War tentacles. Uptaking its stinging cells, the nudi becomes even more toxic than the Man’O War itself. These guys can be found floating on the surface of the water, using the wind to travel and can often wash up on beaches in strong weather. So if you encounter a bright blue dragon-like slug on the beach, please don’t touch! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Blue_dragon-glaucus_atlanticus_8599051974-1024x768.jpg) **The Original Solar Panels** Nudibranchs are all about green energy, they literally carry little solar panels on their backs. This group of nudis called the *Philodesmium* family, have yet another ingenious way of taking advantage of their surroundings. As they feed on sea anemones they harvest symbiotic algae from the anemone’s cells and instead of digesting them, store them in the tissue of the ‘cerata’ on their backs. These cerata are like little hairs on the nudibranch’s top side which face the sun. The algae then absorbs the sunlight, photosynthesises and shares its energy with the slug. Talk about working with what you’ve got! Amongst this group of clever nudibranchs is the famous, and arguably cutest nudi; Shaun the sheep. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_5256-1024x683.jpg) **Even Their Eggs Are Beautiful** Knowing what we now know of nudis it is to be expected that even their methods of reproduction are flamboyantly unusual. Nudibranchs follow each other’s slime trails, to find one another in the vast expanse of the ocean. Once, they do find the love they’ve been looking for, the mating commences. Most nudibranchs are hermaphrodites, meaning they have both male and female reproductive organs. Now, I’ll try to not get too graphic here. The nudis spend a couple of minutes to a couple of hours together, doing a little dance, whilst they exchange sperm. Both nudibranchs can then store that sperm for up to a few weeks at a time whilst they develop their ova, and then internal fertilisation can take place. Once fertilised, it is time to lay their eggs. Nudibranch eggs are just as beautiful as the nudibranchs themselves. They lay them in pink, spiral shaped ribbons that resemble a rose attached to the reef. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/P1300582-1024x768.jpg) **Where to find them?** Nudibranchs can be found in every part of the world, from the icy waters of Antarctica to the warm waters of Indonesia so if you’re dying to meet one you’re in luck! Nudibranch whereabouts are currently of particular interest to environmental researchers. Although found all over the world, each species is highly specific about the conditions it can live within. This coupled with their very short life spans (often less than a year), means that their populations quickly reflect environmental changes, providing rapid feedback on ecosystem health. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/P1622524-1024x768.jpg) In fact, you as a snorkeler can help this important research. Using the [sea slug census](https://www.inaturalist.org), a global citizen science initiative, you can log your sightings of any nudibranch, anywhere in the word and contribute towards vital data that helps us further understand environmental change. **Final thoughts** Through writing this blog, I myself fell right back in love with these charismatic critters. They are yet another example of animals manipulating their environment to survive in the most unlikely and imaginative ways possible (and they do it in style). ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/IMG_2081-1024x683.jpg)Blue dragon picture by Sylke Ronrlack, shared under the [Creative Commons license ](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/deed.en) **Categories:** Conservation, Destinations, Marine Life, On Tour **Tags:** Best places to snorkel, conservation, coral reef, indonesia snorkeling, macro, Nudibranch, snorkeling tips --- ### [A'nemo'ne fish](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/12/29/anemone-fish/) **Published:** December 29, 2025 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** In 2003 the film Finding Nemo was made and Nemo shot to fame as the bravest little fish on the reef. Although we all love Nemo and his tales of bravery, he tends to steal the limelight when it comes to anemonefish (also known as clown fish). You see, alongside Nemo, there are 27 other species of anemonefish, each deserving its own 15 minutes of fame. So to restore the balance, although I cannot promise each species its own blockbuster movie, I am here to enlighten you on all things weird and wonderful about the anemonefish family. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/IMG-20240809-WA0031-1024x768.jpg) Species: Clarks anemonefish (*Amphiprion clarkii)* **Where Do They Live?** As their name suggests anemonefish live in sea anemones. Anemones are animals related to jellyfish and are essentially a blob of tentacles surrounding a central mouth, attached to the reef. They are mostly sedentary, typically selecting a suitable spot on the reef and remaining there. However, they are also capable of movement, slowly crawling along the reef and taking their anemonefish along for the ride. Life on the reef can be dangerous for small fish, with size not on your side you must find clever ways to survive. The tentacles of anemones are lined with stinging cells, for most fish this sting can be painful or even fatal but anemonefish can safely hide amongst the deadly tentacles without receiving a nasty sting. This immunity develops gradually. As the fish rubs against the anemone’s tentacles, the two exchange bacteria, allowing the clownfish to build a mucus layer on its skin that closely matches the anemone’s own. As a result, the anemone no longer recognises the fish as a foreign body. In effect, the clownfish becomes part of the anemone, and is spared from being stung. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/PB270281-scaled-e1767043344278-1024x938.jpg) Species: Skunk Anemonefish (*Amphiprion akallopisos)* But as any true symbiotic relationship both must benefit. So the clown fish keeps busy doing the housekeeping, removing any debris, such as sand, that may land on the anemone. The fish’s excretions also provide the anemone with a nutrient rich food source. Additionally, if you are lucky enough to get up close and personal with an anemonefish, you will notice how aggressive it becomes when approached. This behavior is an attempt to appear threatening and to protect the anemone from predators, a challenging task when you are only a few centimetres long and as cute as a button. **Females Rule The Roost** Anemone fish have one of the most fascinating social systems in the animal kingdom. They’re protandrous hermaphrodites which means every anemone fish is born male, with the remarkable ability to change into a female later in life. Inside each anemone, there’s a strict hierarchy. The largest fish is always the sole female, while all the others remain male. The second largest fish earns the title of dominant male and is the only one allowed to mate with her. But here’s where it gets really interesting: if the female disappears, the dominant male undergoes a complete sex change and becomes the new female. The next largest male then steps up, matures, and takes over as the dominant male. The remaining males form an orderly queue, patiently waiting for their chance to mate. One particular case study documented a single fish staying in the same anemone for an astonishing 14 years, gradually progressing from an immature male, to a mature male, and eventually becoming the female. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/WhatsApp-Image-2025-12-29-at-19.20.53-1024x768.jpeg) Species: True Clown Fish (*Amphiprion ocellaris*) This clever system ensures every clownfish has a home and keeps conflict to a minimum. However, it’s not without its drawbacks: the wait can be long, and some males may spend their entire lives in line without ever getting their chance at mating. **Reproduction** Anemone fish can lay eggs as often as every two weeks if conditions are favorable. The female lays her eggs next to the anemone, on a hard substrate such as the bare limestone reef. The male takes it from there. He swims over the rows of eggs and fertilizes them. He then has the very important job of using his pectoral fin to meticulously fan the unhatched eggs until they mature. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/WhatsApp-Image-2025-12-29-at-19.18.24-1-768x1024.jpeg) Above: Clown Fish eggs attached to reef under anemone. Below: Male anemone fish fanning its eggs. <https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/WhatsApp-Video-2025-12-29-at-19.18.30.mp4> **Top Tip: If you ever find an anemone that seems empty, have a peek next to/underneath it and you might be lucky enough to see this behavior happening.** Fanning the eggs keeps them oxygenated but also plays a vital role in helping the young fish find their future home. Anemones release chemical cues secreted in the mucus of their tentacles. Each different species of anemone has its signature smell. As dad fans these chemicals over the eggs, the smell remains imprinted in the unhatched fish’s memories. It is the smell of home. Once hatched the fish will have a brief larval stage where they free float over the reef. Not all will make it past this stage but the ones that do must now find their anemone home. Although there are over 1000 species of anemone, only 10 are capable of hosting anemonefish and not just any anemone species can host any fish species, the match must be just right. The juvenile clown fish will follow the smell of chemical cues released by nearby anemones to locate the same species of anemone they were born under and their forever home. Photos by Kya Daly-Griffiths and Lydia Vavoula **Categories:** Conservation, Marine Life **Tags:** Best places to snorkel, clown fish, coral reef, indonesia snorkeling, macro, marine life, snorkel, snorkel coral reef, snorkeling vacation --- ### [The Mystery Of Animal Intelligence](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/12/16/the-mystery-of-animal-intelligence/) **Published:** December 16, 2025 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** As humans pour their intellect into machines and anxiously await the day artificial intelligence stands on the podium as the smartest being on Earth, we may be overlooking another contender: animal intelligence. In fact, research into animal cognition might shift your concern from AI induced job loss to a more immediate threat – world domination by octopus. Animal intelligence studies once took a very human centric approach. We judged a dolphin’s smarts by how well it could mimic our abilities, like counting to three. But of course a dolphin’s anatomy isn’t built to say “one, two, three,” it is built to produce clicks that let it echolocate objects with incredible precision. I’ve never met a human that can do that! Fortunately, animal intelligence research has come a long way. There is no longer one single test for “intelligence”. Instead, scientists focus on how well an animal solves problems within its own unique environment, a far more meaningful measure of what it means to be smart in the wild. **The Cunning Octopus** [Octopuses](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/09/02/fun-facts-about-octopus/) could not live a more drastically different life to us humans. Yet, the way they approach problem solving and their incredible adaptability to their environment is undeniably intelligent. They are famously cheeky, using their nine brains to tackle life like no other. They are masters of disguise, going beyond simple camouflage, they can contort their bodies to convincingly mimic the shape and demeanor of other, more dangerous animals. Take the mimic octopus for example: it changes shape and colour to resemble unappetizing creatures like lionfish, [sea snakes](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/07/23/banda-sea-snorkel-guide/), flat fish or jellyfish. Like all great actors octopuses also use props from their surroundings to aid in their disguise. The veined octopus for example picks up two halves of a coconut shell and creeps along the seafloor, encased in the shell for protection. Any predator cruising past, would have no idea there is a juicy octopus hiding in the discarded coconut shell. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/P1008474-1024x682.jpg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/P1008458-1024x682.jpg) Keeping these clever clogs in an aquarium can prove very tricky as they are renowned escape artists. Octopuses have been caught on camera sneaking out of their tanks at night, eating fish in other tanks and returning to their own tanks by morning as if nothing ever happened. Furthermore, research has demonstrated their ability to solve complex puzzles and recognise individual people. One particularly dedicated person even managed to teach an octopus to play the piano! Another remarkable trait of the octopus is its solitary nature. Their parents die before the young even hatch, meaning they don’t learn any of their clever behaviors from parents or other octopuses, they figure it all out on their own. And they do all this with a lifespan of just one to two years. I only dare to imagine what they could accomplish in the life span of a human. **Mirrors and Mantas** Self awareness aka thinking about thinking about thinking that you can think, is considered a higher cognitive ability. Call it a blessing or a curse, humans are acutely aware of their own existence. This awareness has given rise to poetry, philosophy, art but also to self reflection and the drive to better ourselves. It is a pillar of what it means to be human. And yet, once again, we are not so special. Other animals are self aware too. In a cleverly designed experiment, testing for self awareness, [manta rays](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/maldives-manta-research-expedition-by-liveaboard-black-manta/) were placed in front of a mirror and their behaviour observed. When looking at themselves in the mirror, the rays did not exhibit behaviours associated with encountering another ray of their own kind. Instead they did things such as blow bubbles and inspect their bodies and spot patterns in the mirror as if testing to see if it was in fact their own reflection looking back at them. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/P1711744-1024x768.jpg) Perhaps even more shocking than a manta ray recognizing itself in the mirror is that when put to the mirror test, the seemingly unremarkable cleaner wrasse is also capable of self-recognition and therefore may be self-aware. **Cetacean Culture** Family bonds, culture, and tradition are the very core of the human experience, yet we are not the only ones with these complex social dynamics; cetaceans seem to share them too. Even though these guys live in a very different environment to us humans, it is uncanny how their social dynamics seem to mirror ours in many ways. Evolutionarily, species with rich social structures tend to have larger, more complex brains. Cetaceans are no exception to this rule. They hold the record for largest brain of any animal. And although size isn’t everything, when it comes to intelligence, brain size is often an indicator of higher cognitive ability. Whales and dolphins exhibit high parental investment, their young stay close by and learn from mum for up to years at the beginning of their lives. But as with humans, it takes a village, so beyond the mother, the wider family steps in, helping to teach, protect, and raise the next generation. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/P1533603-1.jpg) Sperm whales, holders of the largest brains of any animal on Earth (weighing up to 9kg!), live in gender segregated pods. Females remain together, forming tight knit groups where they collectively rear their young. As deep water hunters, mothers must disappear beneath the surface for long stretches in search of food, a risky time for a calf left alone in the shallows. Instead, when a mother dives, grandmothers and aunts take over baby sitting duty, standing guard and keeping the calf safe. To build and maintain these family bonds, whales must form trusting relationships, and just like in human relationships, in sperm whale society touch plays a powerful role in building trust. Sperm whale families frequently gather in long, gentle embraces, rubbing against one another as they drift together for hours in one big cuddle puddle. The emotional capacity of cetaceans is undeniable when we look at how they acknowledge the death of a family member. Across species, cetaceans have been repeatedly observed responding to death in ways that go far beyond instinct. When a calf dies, mothers may carry the body for days or even weeks, balancing it on their rostrum, lifting it to the surface to breathe despite knowing it no longer can. This behavior is energetically costly and offers no survival benefit yet it is seen again and again. Pods often gather around a dead individual. They may swim slowly, vocalize less, or remain unusually quiet. Some groups linger in the same area long after a death, altering their normal travel patterns. This happens during mass strandings, even when freed, whales will beach themselves again, trying to save other members of their pod. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/P1722762-2-1024x683.jpg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/P1004959-1024x682.jpg) These are just a few examples of how animals display intelligence in the most remarkable ways. Through these windows of insight, it becomes evident how little we know of animal minds and how they relate to the world. How similar or dissimilar is theirs to ours? The plethora of unanswered questions fills one with excitement at the vast potential for what we have yet to learn. **Categories:** Conservation, Marine Life **Tags:** Manta ray, octopus, Snorkel Humpback whales, Snorkel Indonesia, Snorkel Venture, Snorkel with whales, snorkeling vacation, whales --- ### [The Comeback Of The Humpback Whale](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/12/05/the-comeback-of-the-humpback-whale/) **Published:** December 5, 2025 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** [Humpback whales](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/12/07/the-most-profound-encounter-youll-ever-have-snorkeling/) are extraordinary. That much is undeniable. They never fail to leave you in jaw dropping awe, whether they are launching their 30 tonne bodies into the air like torpedoes or gliding beneath the surface with astonishing grace. But the history of humpbacks hasn’t always been a smooth one. Humpbacks were once hunted to near extinction, with only around 10,000 left by the early 1990s. However, thanks to an incredible global effort, the International Whaling Commission banned commercial humpback whaling in 1966 and things have been looking up ever since. Global humpback populations are now estimated to be over 100,000 whales and rising! To celebrate this conservation success story, here are some humpback fun facts. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/P1005390-1-1024x683.jpg) **They sing love songs** During mating season, male humpbacks sing to attract females. This is not your average “pick your favourite tune and belt it out” karaoke contest. It is a wonderful example of cultural transmission. Much like human trends, humpback songs evolve. Each breeding season introduces a new musical “hit,” shaped by the subtle changes males make during the preceding feeding season: tweaks in rhythm, phrases, or melodies. By the time they migrate to warmer mating waters, a fresh, complex song has been written. As they travel, males cross paths and learn the song from one another. The song is passed on from West to East, spanning thousands of miles across the ocean. One rendition can last up to hours at a time. In the Cook Islands, humpbacks have even been observed swimming into shallow reefs, positioning themselves vertically with their heads among the coral. The reef acts like a natural amphitheatre, amplifying their songs for miles. With any luck, making the nearby females swoon with admiration. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/P1005550-1024x682.jpg) **What’s up with all the splashing?** Humpbacks are famous for their aqua aerobics. They slap their tails, wave their fins, and hurl their entire bodies out of the water before landing with a huge echoing wack. As with most animal behaviour, we can only speculate as to why they do what they do. But for a 16-metre whale to launch itself completely out of the water takes an enormous amount of energy, so there must be a good reason behind these dramatic displays…or are they simply having the time of their lives? One theory is that the whales are communicating. When their body hits the water the sound it makes travels for miles. This is a fast way to communicate, a food source, location or danger to nearby whales. Another speculation is that the whales are jumping to remove growths from their skin. Humpbacks can’t simply scratch off that irritating barnacle growing on their side, so it is thought that they jump to remove parasites. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/WhatsApp-Image-2025-12-05-at-20.43.47-1024x654.jpeg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/Screenshot-2025-12-06-at-09.55.59-1024x921.jpg) [Snorkeling with humpbacks](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/12/07/the-most-profound-encounter-youll-ever-have-snorkeling/) should be on everyone’s bucket list. After spending time in the water with humpbacks, it is impossible to ignore their distinct personalities. And while I risk a little anthropomorphism here, humpbacks appear to express a spectrum of emotions not unlike our own, one of which is joy! This is unmistakable when watching a humpback calf splashing about. Much like human babies, they play, explore, and revel in discovering their new world. In fact, humpback calves have been observed leaping out of the water as many as 40 times in a row, quite literally jumping for joy. **Where, when, and what do they eat?** Humpbacks are what you might call yo-yo dieters. During summer, they migrate toward the poles, where they feast and fatten up for the winter months. As members of the baleen whale group, they use their baleen plates like giant sieves, filtering enormous volumes of water to catch tiny prey. In the Southern Hemisphere, they primarily feed on krill; in the Northern Hemisphere, they prefer herring. A single humpback can consume up to 5,000 pounds of krill a day, gaining body mass at an astonishing rate, sometimes more than 12 pounds an hour. All of this is to build the energy reserves needed for their annual migration. When mating season arrives, humpbacks head toward the equator, where warmer waters await. During this epic 10,000 mile round trip, the whales fast. Focusing entirely on mating, giving birth, and caring for their young, there is no time to eat. On the return journey to their feeding grounds, mothers nurse their newborn calves, providing up to 150 gallons of energy rich milk each day while also protecting them and teaching them the ways of the ocean. So, once the mothers and calves finally reach the feeding grounds, they are famished and ready to once again feast and fatten up for winter. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/IMG_8342-1024x682.jpeg) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/WhatsApp-Image-2025-12-02-at-05.11.05-1024x682.jpeg) In 1966 the world came together to protect the humpback whales. Thanks to this decision, on coastlines all around the world people can now look out to sea and see humpback whales jumping for joy. Their recovery is a powerful example of how global protection and coordinated conservation can bring a species back from the brink. Currently humpback whales face another threat. Their vitally important food source of krill in Antarctica is disappearing. Commercial fishing is depleting the Southern Ocean of its krill. Krill is used in pharmaceuticals as a dietary supplement and as food in aquariums. Even though the biomass of krill in the ocean is the largest single-species wild animal biomass on Earth, we are still harvesting it too fast for stocks to remain stable. We can take this opportunity to once again ban together for the protection of humpbacks. If you would like to learn more about Antarctic krill stocks and how you can help protect the humpbacks’ food source, [click here](https://www.our-antarctica.com/antarctic-avengers/). **Snorkeling with Humpbacks** If all this humpback whale talk has you dreaming of slipping into the water beside one, you’re in luck. Snorkeling with these ocean giants is now possible in several countries around the world. In fact, Snorkel Venture hosted a trip to the Dominican Republic last year, where guests experienced unforgettable encounters with mothers and calves. Other destinations for swimming with humpbacks include [French Polynesia](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/08/25/snorkeling-in-french-polynesia-by-liveaboard/), Tonga, and Western Australia. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/P1004830-1024x682.jpg) **Top tip:** Let the whales approach you. The calmer and more relaxed you are in the water, the more comfortable and curious these sensitive animals become, resulting in a magical encounter. **Categories:** Conservation, Marine Life **Tags:** conservation, Megafauna, Snorkel Dominican Republic, Snorkel Humpback whales, Snorkel Tonga, Snorkel with whales, snorkeling --- ### [Misool Snorkeling Safari Video Highlights - October 2025](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/11/12/snorkeling-misool-video-highlights/) **Published:** November 12, 2025 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** Marcus Blake and Alex Lindbloom just returned from our Misool Resort Snorkel Safari, where they took over the entire resort. It could not have been a better trip. They had seen nearly everything they’d ever hoped to and more within the first 36 hours of the tour, and it just kept getting better, somehow! Check out this quick video featuring some of the trip highlights. For more information on Snorkeling Misool visit: [Misool House Reef](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/07/09/33116/) [Misool Snorkeling Tours](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tour-13-nights/) [Misool Resort South Beach](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/07/15/misool-resorts-secluded-south-beach/) **Categories:** Destinations --- ### [The Truth About Mandarinfish](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/09/02/the-truth-about-mandarinfish/) **Published:** September 2, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Alright, I hate to be the one to potentially spoil the party, but we need to have a little talk about Mandarinfish. If you don’t know what a mandarinfish is, it’s that fish with a face like a cartoon frog making a kissy face and a color scheme not too dissimilar from a Grateful Dead tie-dye shirt. If you gave a child a box of crayons and told them to color in the outline of this fish, the colors and patterns you’d get are exactly what you see on the real fish. They are an unbelievably pretty fish. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/d1b4a009-3ca0-f1c1-df7c-dcda91ba8e29.jpg) For those who haven’t yet had the pleasure of seeing a Mandarinfish, I’m guessing it’s now at the very top of your “Fish I NEED to See” list. Some of you have probably already Googled “Mandarinfish” and are currently experiencing a sense of euphoria from the burst of colors and adorable features that popped up when you hit the “Images” tab. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/40a0412c-6fe2-5913-bbe4-7d8551a648ed-scaled.jpg) It is at this point that I need to choose my words carefully, as I suspect your expectations for your future Mandarinfish encounters are quite high, and what I’m about to explain might not be exactly what you want to hear. Big inhale through the nose… Ok, here goes. First, mandarinfish are quite small—the largest male might only be a couple of inches long. I know they look much larger in pictures, but those photos are taken with macro lenses, making them appear much bigger than they actually are. In addition to being small, they are quite shy and tend to dart in and out of the reef, making them tricky to spot and even harder to photograph. Finally, while you can see them during the day in a few places if you are very lucky, they tend to really come out only at dusk. Each evening, just before sunset, they start to emerge from their colony for their nightly mating ritual. While it can be amusing to watch the lone male as he tries his courtship moves with the different females in the colony, there just isn’t much light in the water at that time of day to bring out the vibrant colors of the fish. From our perspective, three to six feet above them, they tend to appear as a dark green in color. We do take underwater torches (flashlights) with us, which helps illuminate their color, but we have to be careful with the beam of the light, as it can scare them back into hiding. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/dfd131fc-96bc-3c0b-f50b-c1a88cdfc019.jpg) I don’t say any of this to dissuade you from your ambitions to see or photograph Mandarinfish. Most of our guests return from their Mandarinfish snorkels in [Alor](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-safari/) or [Palau](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-snorkeling-liveaboard-safari/)—two of the best places to see these fish—absolutely thrilled, having witnessed their quirky mating behavior. Many guests also come back with wonderful photos, showcasing the Mandarinfish in all their cute and colorful glory. However, despite our best efforts to manage expectations before the snorkels, some guests often express confusion about the Mandarinfish, particularly concerning their color and size. “I thought they would be much bigger and more colorful,” is a common remark after these encounters. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1641c8e6-5cd4-add8-2ed6-3e51ac5e8918.jpg) Ok, I did it—I ‘ripped the bandaid off.’ Once again, we absolutely do not want to discourage you from your long-anticipated Mandarinfish experience. We simply want to be completely honest so your expectations are managed and your enjoyment is maximized! **Categories:** Marine Life, On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** Alami Alor Resort, Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Snorkeling in Bali: Our Thoughts](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/09/23/snorkeling-in-bali-our-thoughts/) **Published:** September 23, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** [Bali](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/03/29/where-to-visit-in-bali/), Indonesia’s renowned island paradise, is celebrated worldwide for its vibrant culture, affordable villas, and lush landscapes. As of late, Bali has really made its way to the top of the list as a top destination for travelers seeking a tropical getaway. However, when it comes to snorkeling, Bali might not be the most ideal place for a quintessential tropical snorkeling experience. While it offers some snorkeling opportunities, there are certain challenges that make it less ideal for underwater enthusiasts seeking pristine reefs and abundant marine life. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/P1288522.jpg) One of the main issues with snorkeling in Bali is the rocky shorelines that snorkelers must first traverse to reach the sites. Places like Amed and Tulamben in the north of Bali are some of the only places where snorkeling can be reasonable, while interesting enough, these areas have a volcanic history, and as such, they have rough, rocky beaches that can make entering the water tricky and potentially dangerous for snorkelers. Additionally, the coral reefs tend to be less shallow and extensive than those found in other tropical destinations, limiting the diversity and visibility of marine life close to shore. A typical reef in the north of Bali will start at about four to five meters of depth, with sparse coral coverage. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/09/Bali-Rocky-Beach.jpg) Nusa Lembongan, and Nusa Penida just off the coast of Bali are well-known snorkeling spots. Here, visitors can spot manta rays, colorful fish, and fields of vibrant corals, but the crowds of snorkelers and divers can detract from the overall experience. Not to mention the large swells and cold water found around Nusa Penida, where the mantas congregate. Despite these limitations to snorkelers, Bali remains an excellent hub for travelers planning to explore Indonesia’s world-renowned marine biodiversity. It serves as a convenient starting point for longer underwater adventures to places like [Komodo](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/07/03/west-komodo-alor-trip-report-2025/), [Wakatobi](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/12-day-wakatobi-snorkeling-safari/), [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/), [Halmahera](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/halmahera-snorkeling-tour/), and [North Sulawesi](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/). All of these destinations are easily accessible from Bali thanks to frequent flights and well-established travel infrastructure. For serious snorkelers, these snorkeling destinations offer spectacular shallow coral reefs, an abundance of marine species like manta rays and schooling reef fish, and uncrowded waters. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1300754.jpg) Spending a few days in Bali before or after a snorkeling safari is a great way to enjoy the island’s cultural sights, lush landscapes, culinary delights, all from your own private villa. You can relax, acclimate, and explore [Bali’s temples, rice terraces, and vibrant markets](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/10/29/bali-by-land/) before heading to more remote and pristine marine environments. Whether you’re new to snorkeling or a seasoned underwater explorer, Bali provides a comfortable and beautiful base, while the true marine treasures lie in the farther reaches of Indonesia’s archipelago. In essence, Bali may not be the ultimate snorkeling destination, but it’s an ideal gateway to some of the best underwater experiences in the world. **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life, Tips & Advice **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, GoPro, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, reef, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, women snorkeling --- ### [Is Snorkeling Dangerous?](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/09/15/is-snorkeling-dangerous/) **Published:** September 15, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Snorkeling can be one of the safest and most enjoyable recreational traveling adventures when approached responsibly. The key to a safe snorkeling experience lies in preparation, knowledge, and choosing reputable operators, ahem, Snorkel Venture. While it’s true that snorkeling can be dangerous if done improperly, most risks are easily mitigated with proper precautions. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DJI_0270.jpg) Many dangers associated with snorkeling stem from doing it alone or venturing into unfamiliar areas. Snorkeling solo, especially without experience or guidance, increases the risk of accidents such as exhaustion, panic, or getting lost. It’s crucial to always have a buddy or be guided by professionals who understand local conditions. Similarly, exploring areas without local knowledge can be hazardous as strong currents and unpredictable weather are a genuine threat. This is why participating in organized snorkeling safaris with guides and operators who cater [exclusively to snorkelers](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/06/15/video/) dramatically enhances safety, not to mention enjoyment! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/IMG_4728.jpg) Reputable companies that have decades of experience running snorkeling safaris worldwide carefully select the best liveaboards and resorts to ensure comfort and safety while providing access to only the [best snorkeling destinations](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/02/23/best-snorkeling-destinations-for-beginners/). Their knowledge of local conditions helps prevent accidents and ensures snorkelers enjoy the scenery without unnecessary risk. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DJI_0434.jpg) Proper equipment is another cornerstone of safe snorkeling. Quality [masks](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/05/28/video-how-to-choose-the-right-mask/), [fins](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/01/16/everything-you-need-to-know-about-snorkeling-fins/), [snorkels](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/01/27/types-of-snorkels/), and [wetsuits](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/01/30/snorkeling-in-wetsuits-in-warm-tropical-waters/) not only improve comfort but also increase safety. Using ill-fitting gear can cause discomfort, fatigue, or even dangerous situations like mask leaks or difficulty breathing. Learning how to clear your mask, conserve energy with correct fin techniques, and understand your limits can make all the difference between a fun outing and a risky one. ![Which type of snorkel fins are best | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/FINS.jpg) Like many leisurely outdoor activities, snorkeling itself isn’t inherently dangerous. When done correctly, with proper equipment, and under the guidance of experienced operators like Snorkel Venture, it becomes one of the safest and most rewarding ways to explore the underwater world. Taking these precautions ensures you can enjoy the vibrant marine life and stunning reefs with confidence and peace of mind. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1008554.jpg) **Categories:** Equipment, On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** asia, Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, Komodo, snorkel, snorkel raja ampat, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Can I Pee in My Wetsuit?](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/09/10/can-i-pee-in-my-wetsuit/) **Published:** September 10, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** If it’s your first time on a snorkeling safari, whether it be on a liveaboard or in a resort, it can be a little bit overwhelming trying to grasp some of the more mundane details of the tour, like what to wear and when to wear it. For example, most of our tours take place in [high-end resorts or on luxury liveaboards](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/01/12/liveaboards-vs-resorts/). From this simple fact, you may infer that you need to wear a full tuxedo to dinner each night, which I assure you, you do not. So, to save you two weeks of dining in a stuffy penguin outfit, let me introduce you all to what I’m calling The Decorum Forum—where I answer those questions guests are either too embarrassed to ask at all, or get asked in private. Here we go! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1355692.jpg) **What do I wear around the resort or the liveaboard?** - While we do tend to stay with some of the nicest resorts and liveaboards in the area, that does not mean you need to jump into your ball gown or a three-piece suit post-snorkeling. Our ethos, and the ethos of all the operators we work with, is very much a casual affair where t-shirts and shorts are the normal attire. **Do I need to wear a shirt during mealtime?** - Yes, as we’re typically dining in a family-style environment around one or a couple of larger tables, we do ask that you remain fully clothed during meal times out of respect for everyone else. You’re of course more than welcome to sport beach attire on the beaches or in the outdoor lounging areas around the boat or resort, we just ask that you throw on a sarong or a shirt for meals. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Snorkeling-guests-drinking-on-indonsia-liveaboard-scaled.jpg) **Can I Pee in my Wetsuit?** - If it’s your own wetsuit, you can fill and empty your bladder as much or as little as you like! If you are wearing a rental from the liveaboard or resort, our answer is generally to avoid it as much as possible out of respect for the next person who needs to wear this same wetsuit. We all understand that nature calls far more frequently when we’re immersed in its watery world, so if it’s necessary, then by all means, just be sure to flush afterwards by unzipping it if you can, or by opening the neck to waft water in and out. In just about all the boats and resorts we use, there will be wetsuit rinse tanks with a disinfectant mixed in. If you happen to have a more smelly wetsuit, it’s generally best to rinse it out in the sea or shower first, before rinsing it in the communal rinse tank. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Snorkeling-guests-in-tender-boat.jpg) **We’re going snorkeling again in a couple of hours. Can I just stay in my wet bathing suit or snorkeling attire?** - Depending on the destination and the resort or liveaboard we’re on, we generally have a few hours in between snorkeling sessions where we’ll eat, digest, nap, review photos, charge batteries, etc. You’re more than welcome to remain in your wet snorkeling clothes for this time, we just ask that you don’t sit on any of the resort’s or liveaboard’s nice interior furniture with your now soggy bottoms. There’s more than enough time to comfortably shower and change between snorkeling sessions, so you can access all the comfortable areas of the vessel at all times. **Categories:** On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Fun Facts About Octopus](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/09/02/fun-facts-about-octopus/) **Published:** September 2, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Octopuses are easily one of our most asked-about creatures during our snorkeling safaris. Everyone who’s never seen one is desperate to get a glimpse of these alien-like creatures. Similarly, everyone who’s seen one is still chomping at the bit to find another. An encounter with an octopus that’s on the move is basically one of the most incredible things you could ever see in the ocean. That is a verifiable fact. They change colors, shapes, sizes, and textures. They can propel themselves through the water like a torpedo one minute, only to turn their eight webbed tentacles into an impenetrable tent trapping the small fish they were hunting inside. If you find an active octopus on a snorkel, it basically means that you will be watching it for the duration of the snorkel, and here are a few reasons why you’ll be hard-pressed to swim away from an octopus. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1700333.jpg) **Octopuses or Octopi or…?** The three plurals for octopus come from the different ways the English language adopts plurals. *Octopi* is the oldest plural of octopus, coming from the belief that words of Latin origin should have Latin endings. *Octopuses* was the next plural, giving the word an English ending to match its adoption as an English word. Lastly, octopodes stemmed from the belief that because octopus is originally Greek, it should have a Greek ending. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Octopus-Standing-Up.jpg) **3 Hearts** Octopuses have three hearts, two to pump blood past the gills to gain oxygen, and a third one to move that now oxygen-rich blood to all the organs and muscles. The strange thing is though, when an octopus swims or propels itself through the water, that third heart stops beating. It is very likely that this is the reason why octopuses prefer crawling across the reef, instead of swimming, as it’s far less exhausting. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Octopus-Two-Colors.jpg) **Clever** Octopuses are very clever and have an innate ability to figure things out, like how to navigate mazes, remember solutions, and use tools to protect themselves. If you’ve ever seen the Oscar-winning documentary My Octopus Teacher, you’ll soon understand just how brilliant these creatures are. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Wonderpus-Swimming.jpg) **Octopus Ink** The ink from an fleeing octopus isn’t just to hide the animal, it also has a chemical in it that irritates a predators eyes and messes up ones sense of smell and taste. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Octopus-Portrait.jpg) **Blue Blood** Octopus’s blood appears blue when it meets oxygen because it has copper rich protein in it, instead of iron like ours. **Categories:** Marine Life **Tags:** Alami Alor Resort, Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, marine life, octopus, Snorkel Indonesia, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling tips, underwater photography --- ### [Snorkeling in French Polynesia by Liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/08/25/snorkeling-in-french-polynesia-by-liveaboard/) **Published:** August 25, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** [**French Polynesia**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) is a French territory in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, which is made up of five archipelagos: the Society Islands, Tuamotos, Marquesas, Gambier, and the Australs. All Islands combined, there are over one hundred. Tahiti is the largest island and hosts the capital city, Papeete, in the northwest. Bora-Bora is also part of French Polynesia and probably one of the most well-known islands—aside from Tahiti—as it’s a very popular place to honeymoon, though neither is that great for snorkeling. That being said, we know where the great snorkeling is and [we’re running tours there](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/)! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/DJI_0042.jpg) We’ve been [**running tours to French Polynesia**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) for a few years now, and it’s been a huge hit with the guests. We actually just launched our [2027 French Polynesia tour dates](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/), and the first tour sold out in a matter of days! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1001031.jpg) Our French Polynesia snorkeling tours take place in the Tuamotus in the northeast of French Polynesia around spring. For snorkelers, this is one of the most unique regions as the Tuamotus are a set of amoeba-shaped atolls, unlike the rest of the area which is made up of small islands. If you look at the Tuamotus on Google Earth you might imagine that you these atolls as something like the [Blue Hole in Belize](https://snorkelventure.com/2022/04/14/snorkeling-in-the-blue-hole/), where you could sail around the perimeter in a few hours. Not the case, these atolls are absolutely massive. If you were to sit in the middle of the lagoon, you wouldn’t be able to see either side by a very long way. This is great for us as it offers us snorkelers no shortage of reefs to explore.![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Aqau-Tiki-III-liveaboard.jpg) We run our French Polynesia aboard a beautiful and very well-equipped catamaran sailing boat called the Aquatiki III. We charter the boat exclusively for our eight guests and Snorkel Venture guide, making this our smallest tour group on offer. Aboard this intimate vessel, we make our way around several of the different atolls, namely Fakarava as it’s become very famous for its stunning shallow coral reefs, healthy population of reef sharks, and other big fish like the Napoleon wrasse and schools of snappers. Snorkeling in the Tuamotu Islands of French Polynesia offers an extraordinary underwater experience, thanks to the region’s crystal-clear lagoons, vibrant coral reefs, and abundant marine life. The turquoise waters provide perfect visibility for exploring a diverse array of colorful fish, graceful rays, and fascinating coral formations. Fakarava and the other atolls are renowned for their lagoon ecosystems, where snorkelers can marvel at the kaleidoscope of marine biodiversity and enjoy the serene beauty of this remote paradise. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1522257.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations, On Tour **Tags:** best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, French Polynesia, GoPro, how to snorkel, reef, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, south pacific, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Fundamentals of Underwater Photography for Snorkelers](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/08/07/fundamentals-of-underwater-photography-for-snorkelers/) **Published:** August 7, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Taking a great photograph while snorkeling has very little to do with the camera you are using or the subject you are taking a photo of. You could have the best camera money can buy, and the most unique underwater subject out there, but if you don’t understand the simple fundamentals of underwater photography, there’s a very good chance that your photos won’t have that wow factor that you may have hoped for. Meanwhile, someone snorkeling with a very cheap camera who focuses on simpler subjects and has a basic understanding of the fundamentals of underwater photography will very likely be able to take a photo that captivates an audience far better. ## **Fundamentals of Natural Light Underwater** One of the most noticeable issues we first face as underwater photo enthusiasts is the loss of color, which occurs because water absorbs and scatters light differently than air. As you try to photograph subjects that are deeper, colors like red, orange, and yellow fade first, leaving images looking increasingly blue or green. To overcome this challenge, we need a couple of things. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1188803-2.jpg) **Shoot with the sun** We always want to try to shoot with the sun, as it’s our light source, and we want to make sure we’re photographing the light illuminated side of our subjects, not the shadow side. Most of the time, this isn’t an issue as the sun is high in the sky and as snorkelers, we’re between the sun and our subjects. However, when the sun is lower on the horizon, early mornings or late afternoons, this is when we need to pay more attention to this. **Get within three feet of your subject** Proximity is one of the most important things to consider with underwater photography. The more water we have between our lens and the subject, the less color we’ll have. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1300754.jpg) **White balance is key** Setting the appropriate white balance setting on your camera is what’s really going to make the big difference with the colors in your image. Most digital cameras nowadays, like the Olympus TG Series, will have built-in underwater white balance settings, where the camera adjusts the colors based on the light for each shot, giving you colorful images every time. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/White-Balance-Side-by-Side.jpg) *To learn more about white balance, [check out this blog](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/03/19/snorkeling-photo-tip-best-white-balance-settings/).* ## **Fundamentals of Photographing Through Water** Just like having more water between your lens and the subject affecting your colors, your proximity to the subject will also affect things like clarity and contrast. The further away you are from your subject, the more washed out your image will be. For the sharpest images with the most pop, it’s very important that we follow these basic guidelines. **Zoom with your fins** Unlike taking photos on land where we can simply zoom with our camera’s lens to close in on our subject, the same does not work underwater. I mean, we can still zoom, but the end result will not be the same given the waters density. We will just end up with a washed-out image with very little color. We want to instead zoom with our fins to physically get as close as we can, and then zoom, if at all, to fine-tune our composition. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1009984.jpg) **Photograph subjects at a depth you can access** If you have the ability to duck dive down to a few meters, that will help you a lot in being able to physically get closer to your subjects. However, if you prefer to stay on the surface, there are still plenty of amazing subjects to focus on in the shallows, especially in places like [Indonesia,](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/indonesia/) [Palau,](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/palau/) and [Egypt](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/egypt/)! *For tips on improving your duck diving skills, check out our [Shallow Freediving Workshops](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/free-dive-photo-workshops/) led by professional Freediving Instructors.* **Use a wide-angle lens** For photographing larger reef scenes and subjects like manta rays, turtles, and whale sharks, a wide-angle lens can make all the difference with your images, as they allow you to physically get closer to your subjects without compromising your field of view. ![Olympus TG6 wide angle lens | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/000090186.jpeg)Olympus Camera with FCON-T01 Fisheye Converter*To learn more about wide-angle lenses, [check out this blog](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/10/12/what-is-wide-angle-underwater-photography-and-what-are-the-benefits/).* ## **Subject Selection** Choosing a great subject is not about finding the coolest or most unusual subject. A good subject will be visually interesting to look at, but also in an ideal setting that allows for prolonged encounters, offers multiple angles to approach it from, and is relatively easy to photograph. A good subject will quite often be a simple subject. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P2261993.jpg)An example of a very simple subject composed using nothing more than a wide-angle lens and a TG-6 Camera. Even the simplest subject can produce amazing results when composed correctly.Snorkelers will often spend their time trying to photograph the small colorful reef fish that are darting in and out of the reef. If you try to get close or make any sort of movement, they’re gone before you know it. Similarly, more stationary subjects like scorpion fish and other benthic dwellers that sit in camouflage amongst the corals are also problematic for us photographers trying to elevate our photos to the next level, as they generally tend to wedge themselves into the reef, making it difficult to approach them from an angle that’s going to flatter them. Luckily, there are quite a few of these cool critters on the reefs so if you find ones that’s not in an ideal setting, you will likely find one later on that is. For example, the crocodile fish in the left was just so imbedded in the reef there was no way to highlight it. The crocodile fish on the right was found a few moment later on the same reef, but this one was in a position I could get a much more pleasing angle on it so as to highlight it. [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1700617-720x480.jpg) P1700617 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1700617.jpg "P1700617") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1009753-720x480.jpg) P1009753 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1009753.jpg "P1009753") Here are some subjects that we suggest searching for as they tend to be not only beautiful subjects, but also more cooperative. **Anemones and anemone Fish** In the Indo-Pacific, we find a lot of different species of anemones and their resident fish. Some anemone fish will cooperate with the cameras, while others will hide. Find the ones that are cooperative and spend your time with them. If the fish isn’t cooperative, and the anemone has those beautiful tentacles, try taking abstract photos of the tentacles. [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1003504-720x480.jpg) P1003504 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1003504.jpg "P1003504") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P3062268-720x480.jpg) P3062268 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P3062268.jpg "P3062268") **Turtles** In many of our trips, we encounter turtles. Like the anemones, some will be cooperative while others a bit more skittish. Wait for the cooperative ones and if you’re relaxed around them, they’ll be relaxed around you, allowing you to photograph them from many different angles. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1588127.jpg) **Coral Abstracts** Coral abstract photos are some of the easiest and most satisfying photos to take. Just get close and explore the photographic possibilities with the different shapes, textures, colors, and compositions. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P3130070.jpg) **Crinoids & Larger Tunicates** Both of these unusual-looking marine creatures can be very photogenic. They don’t move, they’re visually interesting, and they’re generally found in easily accessible locations. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1677220.jpg) **Cuttlefish** A little bit harder to find, but when you find a friendly cuttlefish, there’s no need to look for anything else because this is as good as it gets! They’re a large size, they can be quite cooperative if you’re calm, and they change shapes, colors, and textures while often exhibiting some pretty amazing behavior. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P2272099.jpg) **Reef Scenes** Reef scenes are one of the easiest and most rewarding photos you can take, especially if you have a wide-angle lens. Coral reefs are like psychedelic gardens with a myriad of tropical life forms exploding from them. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/PA141105.jpg) **Subjects on the Surface** Sargassum seaweed is very often overlooked or pushed aside by snorkelers despite it being a fantastic photographic subject, especially if it has fish hiding amongst it, which it often does! Objects, like sargassum or floating seed pods make exceptional subjects as they are very close to us and allow us to approach them from any angle. Not only that, the water’s surface will now reflect the subject, giving our images a very unique effect. [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1699528-720x480.jpg) P1699528 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1699528.jpg "P1699528") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AlexJellyFishLakeFlowerhead-2-720x480.jpg) AlexJellyFishLakeFlowerhead-2 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/AlexJellyFishLakeFlowerhead-2.jpg "AlexJellyFishLakeFlowerhead-2") **Jellyfish** We don’t see a ton of jellyfish on our tours, very few actually, but from time to time we encounter one here and there. While keeping a safe distance from their tentacles, jellyfish can make exceptional subjects. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1088244.jpg) **Nudibranchs** While nudibranchs can be a little bit of a tricky subject given their small size and proclivity for slugging around in the crevices of the reef, we quite often come across larger ones who happen to be sitting in the most ideal positions. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1088698.jpg) ## **Composition** Composition is all about what you decide to include or exclude from a photograph, and also how you choose to frame your subject or subjects. There are many different ways to photograph a single subject, so make sure you put a little thought into how you want to showcase yours. To really flatter your subject and draw the viewer into the image, follow these simple guidelines. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Montse-Thirds.jpg) **Shoot Laterally** A general rule of thumb for composing your underwater images is to approach your subjects from a more lateral perspective. If you shoot down on your subject, you’re composing it against the clutter of the reef. If you shoot laterally, you have a better chance of being able to compose your subject against a clean blue water background, while also introducing some depth to the image. Some other **The Rule of Thirds** The rule of thirds is a compositional guideline that divides an image into nine equal parts using two horizontal and two vertical lines. Placing your subject or subjects within relative proximity to the intersecting points, we can create balance in our images. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Montse-Thirds.jpg) We typically use one or two subjects. In the case of two subjects, we want one in the foreground and one in the background. It’s also best to work in diagonal lines, so if your foreground subject is in the bottom left intersection, your background subject should be around the top right intersection. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Turtle-Thirds_6.jpg) In general, we want to avoid putting our subjects in the center of the frame. However, when there’s symmetry involved, placing your subject in the center can be a very visually interesting composition. **Look Room & Head Room** Lookroom and headroom are important compositional elements that help create a sense of space and balance in a photograph. Look room provides visual breathing space in the direction a subject is facing or looking, making the image feel natural and comfortable. Headroom ensures that there is enough space above a subject’s head, preventing the composition from feeling cramped or awkward. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Look-Room-Headroom-scaled.jpg) **Negative Space** Negative space refers to the empty or unoccupied areas around the main subject of the image. It helps draw attention to the subject by providing contrast and emphasizing its importance within the composition. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P3062268.jpg) Additionally, negative space can create a sense of scale, simplicity, and balance in a photograph. You can choose to include a lot of negative space or choose to fill the frame entirely with your subject. ## **Understanding Your Camera and Making it Work For You** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/IMG_8524.jpg) If you know how to use your camera and understand what its strengths and weaknesses are, you’re well ahead of someone with a big fancy camera that has no idea how to use it. Some things you really want to spend time learning about your camera should include…. **Knowing how to access the white balance functions and/or underwater shooting modes, in and out of the camera housing** The quicker you can change your white balance settings on your camera, the better your colors will be in your images. **How to adjust the exposure** Many of the compact cameras like the Olympus TG series, and action cameras like GoPro, will have a dial or setting where you can quickly adjust how dark or bright your images are, giving you the ability to easily fine tune your images in the water, all without having to know anything about ISO, shutter speed, or Aperture. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/Olympus-TG7-Layout.jpg) **How to turn on and off the camera’s flash** In general, we want to keep our flash off as the flash will just create backscatter. However, if we’re going in to take some close-up photos, then we’ll want to turn on our flash. Knowing how to quickly engage or disengage your flash will ensure that you have the correct flash setting for every shot, without missing a moment. **How wide your lens is** Having an idea of how wide the field of view is on your camera’s lens will really help you decide which subjects to focus on. If your camera has a field of view of around 60-70 degrees, like the Olympus TG series cameras, then you’re going to want to focus more on smaller subjects, fish portraits, smaller reef scenes, or coral abstracts, for example. If you have a field of view greater than 90 degrees, then larger subjects like turtles, mantas, and vast reef scenes with your snorkeling buddy will be what you’ll want to look for. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1300301.jpg) Like every skill in life, underwater photography can be as complex or as simple as we like it. To achieve your photographic goals, it doesn’t take the the latest and greatest camera or the most sought after subjects. It just takes a bit of forethought, a simple camera, and a basic understanding of the fundamentals of underwater photography. **Categories:** Equipment, Photography **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, GoPro, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, reef, snorkel, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, underwater photography --- ### [Snorkel Venture's Friendly Photo Competition 2025 Results](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/08/15/snorkel-venture-friendly-photo-competition-2025-results/) **Published:** August 15, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** This summer, we held our first-ever Snorkel Venture Friendly Photo Competition, and we were thrilled to see the results of your photographic endeavors! So many great photos from your snorkeling adventures around the world. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Snorkel-Venture-Photo-Competition.jpg) From the first of June 2025 and up until the end of the month, the powers that be over here at Snorkel Venture HQ were sequestered away into a dimly lit room with no connection to the outside world aside from these wondrous photos displayed upon the whitewashed stone walls. With nothing more than a few right-angled wooden chairs and a straw mattress on the floor, the deliberation phase was in full swing. Now, if you’ve ever deliberated before, it’s a long and tedious process. Fueled by Açaí smoothie bowls and bottomless oat-milk matcha lattes, our esteemed judging panel were sequestered until they agreed on a champion, which was announced via multicolored smoke from an undisclosed chimney in the global epicenter of all things artistic, Paris…Texas. Also, Facebook and email. The Champion was eventually crowned on the 1st of July, 2025. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Snorkel-Venture-Photo-Competition-and-Fourth-Element-Prize.jpg)Mary’s loot includes a Fourth Element “Gulper” water bottle, a microfiber towel, and a waterproof bag.Big congratulations to Mary Sirchel for her stunning image of a red crinoid seemingly dancing on top of an immaculate piece of hard coral. She will soon receive her bounty from [**Fourth Element**](https://www.facebook.com/fourthelementdive?__cft__%5B0%5D=AZWmrUmIvRQIg5x7BmcbyaMdA-BaJKaQwlD-wBW0DM-I8VZfCP97esPtH5QyRRSadz_1UQZNyYbciOHkphqwX5mZsrV70J77vUR4GwcXppdSteh8yVIDhLo1JVQPTMdFi7tAYyJwle63fMBp2PpR-F1RdMZMVFuRHxAA4MNfVZK8Br-jREieFhW760Ri4x6EpSDiHw-v0tu8fUST3SxILgUf&__tn__=-%5DK-R), who’ve been kind enough to donate these wonderful prizes to this fun little competition. Also, a big round of applause to Brenda MacAlpine, Robert Orrizzi, and Pat Goding for their beautifully captured images! --- ### **Winner \| Mary Shircel \|”Dancing on Coral”** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/515437297_1308094981315981_3931352215168322698_n.jpg) **Judges Comments**: This is a perfect example of a common subject being flattered by the photographer using very simple techniques for a truly stunning image. We loved the little rainbow effect of the natural light on the hard coral below. The way the light hits only a few of the arms of the crinoid/feather star also really helps make it pop and provides a lot of texture. Finally, shooting with a slight upward angle has allowed Mary to compose this beautiful scene against the water’s surface, where there’s a bit of a reflection of the reef, adding a whole other dimension to the image. --- ### Runner Up \| Brenda MacAlpine \| “Mangrove Magic”![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Snorkel-Venture-Photo-Competition_Runner-Up-1.jpg) **Judges Comments:** A truly amazing image that perfectly combines both worlds of the magical mangroves in Raja Ampat. This is a very technical photo as Brenda was using a Ricoh WG-80 Camera; therefore, the surface area on the lens is very small. To be able to hold the camera steady enough to get a perfect over-under shot like this is a real accomplishment! Not only that, but to be able to balance the bright lights from above and the more moody light from below requires a lot of attention to the exposure. --- ### Runner Up \| Robert Orrizzi \| “Swimming with a Dugong” ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Snorkel-Venture-Photo-Competition_Runner-Up-2.jpg)**Judges Comments:** A very rare encounter captured perfectly with the buddy swimming alongside this elegant dugong in clear blue water! With large pelagic species like this, it takes a lot of patience and anticipation of where the animals are going to potentially move through, so you can put yourself into a position where you can frame the moving subject from the side, and with your partner behind! A photo and encounter we’re all jealous of! --- ### Honorable Mention \| Pat Goding \| “Bounty of Halmahera” ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Snorkel-Venture-Photo-Competition_Honorable-Mention.jpg) **Judges Comments:** This is a photo worth framing for sure! The combination of the vibrant coral scene below with the water column absolutely packed full of the pale blue chromis, all facing the same direction, is energizing to the soul. There’s just so much life, energy, and color in this image, perfectly framed and captured by Pat. Thank you all for participating in this competition, it’s been a lot of fun to see your images and to hear your stories of how they came to be! **Categories:** On Tour, Photography **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, GoPro, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Five Subjects to Focus Your Camera On While Snorkeling](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/08/05/five-subjects-to-focus-your-camera-on-while-snorkeling/) **Published:** August 5, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** As our snorkeling safaris take place in some of the world’s most biodiverse marine ecosystems, home to creatures that are colorful, beautiful, and unique—many of which you’ve never seen before —it can be overwhelming to know where to point your camera. Of course, you can opt for the spray-and-pray method, where you swim around snapping photos of everything you come across, a bit like a golden retriever in a room full of tennis balls. With this method, you’ll surely capture some images of unique creatures, you might even garner the attention of your snorkeling friends on Facebook, awarding you momentary fame amongst the snorkeling digital community. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/515437297_1308094981315981_3931352215168322698_n.jpg)Mary’s photo was the winner in our 2025 Friendly Photo Competition and it perfectly illustrates how even the most simple and common subjects can make for exceptional photos.However, to maximize your SD card’s potential, reduce post-processing time, and capture the attention of your peers outside the snorkeling community with stunning snaps, we suggest being a bit more disciplined in your underwater imaging mission. With so many underwater subjects to choose from, it’s hard to know which ones to focus on for the best result. To make life easier, here’s a quick list of some subjects our photographically inclined snorkeling guests opt for. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1577245.jpg) **Nemo** Anemone fish can be found on just about every single reef within in the [Coral Triangle](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/12/11/what-is-the-coral-triangle/), and in all shapes, sizes, and colors. A cooperative anemone fish will offer you endless options for different compositions. If the anemone fish you are trying to photograph is shy, don’t waste your time; you can move on to the next one several meters down. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1010134.jpg) **Cuttlefish** Cuttlefish are a little bit hard to find, but once you find one, and if it’s patient, you can spend hours taking photos of them. Like the anemone fish, there are so many different ways to photograph one, close-ups of the eyes, portraits, or reefscapes with the cuttlefish as part of the shot are all instant winners! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1003667.jpg) **Tunicates** Tunicates are a great subject to photograph with your camera. They are everywhere, don’t move, come in about a zillion different kinds, and they’re all beautiful! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1677220.jpg) **Coral Abstracts** [**Coral abstracts**](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/21/olympus-tg-photo-tip-go-abstract/) are always a winner. There are literally hundreds and hundreds of different types of corals, each with its own unique pattern, texture, and color. Just make sure you fill the frame with the patterns, or don’t, it’s abstract photography, so let the creativity flow! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P3130070.jpg) **Juvenile Batfish** On most of our snorkeling safaris, we’ll try to spend a bit of time around a jetty. One of the great things about jetties is that they’re where juvenile batfish like to hang out. They can be a bit shy, but if you are patient, they’ll usually approach you after a while, allowing you to get some beautiful pics of these curious fish. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1009984.jpg) There are, of course, many other fantastic creatures that offer you equal opportunities for outstanding photographs, this is just a quick sample to help give you an idea of what to look for. In general, a good subject will be patient, at a depth you can easily access, up in the water column or just above the reef and not wedged in-between the corals, and allow you to approach it from multiple different angles and perspectives. **Categories:** Marine Life, Photography, Tips & Advice, Uncategorised **Tags:** asia, camera, GoPro, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, Olympus, photography, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, tg6, tough, Underwater, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Snorkeling from Coral Eye Resort - First Impressions](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/07/29/snorkeling-from-coral-eye-resort-first-impressions/) **Published:** July 29, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Coral Eye is the new sister resort to [**Siladen Island Resort,**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-safari-2025/) and is located just around the corner from Siladen, relatively speaking, on Bangka Island, just off the tip of northern Sulawesi. The buzz around this new boutique resort in the snorkeling community has been huge, and had it not been for my busy schedule, I would have paid Coral Eye a visit much sooner. After waiting the better part of a year for my opportune moment to jump on a plane and jet off to Manado, I have now finally been able to see what all the chatter that I’d been inundated with was really all about. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DJI_20240911095729_0005_D.jpg) As many of you have already visited Siladen as part of one of our snorkeling safaris that stops in [**North Sulawesi**](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/21/north-sulawesi-snorkeling-guide/), I don’t think I need to elaborate too much on what this means in terms of service, the food, the accommodation, and, of course, the snorkeling at Coral Eye. If you haven’t had the pleasure of visiting Siladen yet, you will have no doubt heard of this award-winning resort’s outstanding reputation. As one of Indonesia’s oldest and most well-regarded resorts, Siladen sets the tone for other resorts to follow. Now, with over twenty years of experience behind the Siladen/Coral Eye team, this new resort could very well be the resort that raises the bar a notch higher when it comes to the entire experience. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1800467.jpg) Coal Eye is on the southwestern edge of a little island called Banka, just thirty minutes from the mainland of Sulawesi. We access the resort via a one-hour drive from the Manado Airport, followed by a thirty-minute boat ride in one of the resort’s comfortable boats. Alternatively, as Siladen is just ‘around the corner’ from Coral Eye, we can also access it via a boat ride from Siladen Resort with a stop to snorkel along the way. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/North-Sulawesi-Map-Bangka.jpg) While it may look like Coral Eye and Siladen are quite close together as they both rest off the northern tip of Sulawesi, the coral reefs and marine life are entirely different. Where Siladen and the Bunaken National Park area is predominately made up of hard coral plateaus and walls draped in soft corals and sea fans, Banka Island and the surrounding area are more similar to the reefs around central and southern Raja Ampat as they tend to be sloping reefs carpeted in a mixture of soft corals, sponges, sea fans, and some larger hard coral bommies. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1011671.jpg) Where marine life is concerned, there are quite a few similarities in that the reefs are teeming with colorful reef fish of all shapes and sizes. We found several large cuttlefish, two of which were hanging around on the house reef for the duration of our stay. We also had a very exciting snorkel around the pillars of a large cement pier, which was teeming with life. Each piling was a reef of its own with soft corals, sponges, sea fans, and for some weird reason, a ton of mating nudibranchs! Swirling around the pilings was a dense mass of silversides (an anchovy-like fish) that were in constant motion as the predatory jacks hunted them. The primary difference between the Bunaken area and the Banka area is that there are far fewer turtles around Banka, whereas Bunaken is teeming with them. That being said, when compared to Bunaken, every destination has far fewer turtles than Bunaken, which is like the Mecca for green sea turtles! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1011819.jpg) The resort itself is just incredible, and on the expansive beachfront property, you’ll find many great spaces. Still, the most noticeable and most visited area is the spacious central building, complete with cozy corners to read or relax in, a central communal dining table to meet new snorkelers, and a breezy lofted lounge to admire the tranquil scenery from. Along the white sand beach, you’ll find the garden and beach villas nestled amongst the tropical vegetation. These brand-new villas are exquisite, and I have no hesitation in saying that they are the nicest rooms at any of the resorts we use. No detail was left out! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/CoralEyeVillaInterior.jpg) The food, curated by their Italian-trained chef, will tantalize your palate the same way the reefs tantalize your eyes. The à la carte menus are carefully assembled to not only fill you up before your next snorkeling adventure but also excite you with the new smells and flavors that fuse traditional Italian dishes with the spices and herbs of Indonesia. For those with food allergies or other dietary restrictions, the chef knows how to create dishes that cater to your needs while also ensuring they are delicious. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/HomeMadePasta_CoralEye.webp) All in all, Coral Eye isn’t just a resort — it’s a splash zone of comfort, adventure, and mouthwatering cuisine. Whether you’re indulging in the reef fish or just soaking up the serenity from your villa’s balcony, one thing’s for sure. Once you’ve experienced Coral Eye’s magic, you’ll be dreaming of soft corals and seaside siestas long after you’ve packed your bags and settled back at home. We will be running a number of different tours to Coral Eye with varying iteneraries starting in 2026. Here’s a look at our current lineup of tours that include Coral Eye. ### 2026 & 2027 Tours - [**West Komodo, Bangka Island & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/westkomodo-bangka-rajaampat/) - **[Bunaken, Bangka & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/)** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DJI_20240911100001_0013_D.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations, On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** asia, bangka, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral eye, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, raja ampat, reef, siladen, snorkel, snorkel Bunaken, snorkel safari, snorkel Sulawesi, snorkel with turtles, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling tips, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Misool Resort's Secluded South Beach](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/07/15/misool-resorts-secluded-south-beach/) **Published:** July 15, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** [**Misool Resort**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tour-13-nights/) is quite easily one of our most requested locations for snorkeling adventures by our guests. It’s not hard to understand why when you see the photos of the resort! I’d wager that there is no other resort quite like it in the world with its surreal layout framed by karst limestone cliffs, white sandy beaches, overwater bungalows, jungle villas, and several house reefs teeming with life! With all of that in mind, I’d like to quickly take the time to highlight one of the lesser-known areas of Misool Resort, its South Beach! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/North-Lagoon-South-Beach-Map.jpg) Misool’s North Lagoon offers overwater villas and bungalows, while South Beach offers exquisite beach and jungle villas. The accommodation style for both the North Lagoon and South Beach incorporates what we call a “rustic-luxury” style, which Misool Resort has perfected. The South Beach Villas are jaw-droppingly gorgeous, with several of them incorporating the limestone cliffs into the interior of the rooms. The jungle villas have large wrap-around decks with multiple levels and even a private yoga shala, while the beach villas offer unobstructed views of what could easily be one of the most beautiful beaches you’ve ever seen. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DJI_0113.jpg) One of the great things about South Beach is its seclusion from the rest of the resort. Not that the North Lagoon is crowded, it’s just that there are only six villas on South Beach, so it feels as if it’s only you on your remote tropical island, but with all the amenities and services of an upscale resort! [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Misool-Resort-Bathroom-720x480.jpg) South Beach Villa Bathroom ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Misool-Resort-Bathroom.jpg "Misool Resort Bathroom") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Misool-Resort-Verandah-720x480.jpg) South Beach Villa Verandah ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Misool-Resort-Verandah.jpg "Misool Resort Verandah") To arrive to South Beach, there are two options. The first is to take the “tinnie,” as they call it, which is just a small aluminum boat used to ferry guests on South Beach to and from the North Lagoon. There are radios available on South Beach, so whenever you need to hitch a ride, just jump on the radio and the tinnie will come pick you up, as long as it’s not super low tide. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/South-Beach-Map.jpg) The other option is a short trek over the hill that separates North Lagoon and South Beach. **While the walk does involve a** [**fair number of steps**](https://www.youtube.com/shorts/qpADqvOm0L0)**, they are nice paved steps with handrails, and the views along the way will leave you gobsmacked.** This walk becomes an integral part of the experience of staying on South Beach and Misool Resort. [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1255771-720x480.jpg) P1255771 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1255771.jpg "P1255771") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1255787-720x480.jpg) P1255787 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1255787.jpg "P1255787") Given that staying on South Beach does require a fair amount of effort with the steps to get to and from the area, we don’t recommend staying on South Beach if you aren’t physically up for the walk to and from. However, if a few steps that meander through the jungle with viewpoints of both sides of Misool Resort sound like a pleasant way to start and finish the day, South Beach is for you! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DJI_0455.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations, On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** ampat, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, misool, raja, resort, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, women snorkeling --- ### [Luggage and Packing Tips for Snorkeling Holidays](https://snorkelventure.com/2025/07/06/luggage-and-packing-tips-for-snorkeling-holidays/) **Published:** July 6, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Having a streamlined packing routine and luggage ensemble is a very important part of preparing for our next[ snorkleing adventure](https://snorkelventure.com/). If you just grab a couple of random bags tucked away in the back of the closet and toss your items in haphazardly, you’re likely to encounter a fair amount of stress throughout the tour, both mentally and physically. Following this method, finding important items like your passport and traveling cash at a moment’s notice can become a far from relaxing game of “Let’s Pull Everything Out and Scatter it on the Airport Floor”. Similarly, bear-hugging what could very easily pass as a sack of potatoes–but you call it your checked baggage–through multiple airport terminals will soon become an endurance test and leave you breathless, covered in sweat, and with shoulders that can no longer hold your arms above your head. So, to keep you in a comfortable state of body and mind, here are some [packing tips](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/01/20/how-to-pack-for-a-snorkel-venture/)! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/1d44a585-3754-2e58-b96a-dbd286010506.jpg) **Hand Carry Luggage** Following most airlines’ allowance of one piece of hand luggage and personal items, the configuration of one suitcase with **wheels** that meets the measurement requirements of the overhead bin, generally 22 x 14 x 9 inches or 56 x 36 x 23 centimeters, combined with a normal-sized backpack, is ideal. Remember, one of these items should most definitely have wheels, because wheels are awesome and carrying bags is not awesome. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/f60bdc80-1447-27e2-e2a7-f96df90d7abb.jpg) Where rolling hand carry luggage is concerned, my preference is hard-shelled rectangular suitcases with four wheels. Ones that have internal dividers for things like laptops, tablets, passports, and other small items are the best. Also, in the main compartment, it’s nice to have the straps or mesh dividers to hold things in place nicely so that when it’s opened up, everything is as it was packed and not jammed into the bottom in a mass of wrinkled clothes and loose batteries. **Hand Carry Luggage Packing** Airlines around the world require specific items to be packed in certain bags. For example, all batteries, or battery-powered items such as laptops, tablets, and phones, to be packed into your hand-carry baggage. For obvious reasons, things like money, jewelry, and of course, passports need to be in your hand-carried luggage as well. We also recommend picking one easy-to-access pocket for your passport and or wallet so you know exactly where it is at all times and you can access it easily. The same goes for any large amounts of cash you intend to bring on tour; always put it in the same pocket so there’s no panic and confusion later on. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/f0782a6f-ec22-1a72-ed49-abee5851fd3d.jpg) **Checked Luggage** Large amorphous duffel bags with no internal organizational structure that require the shoulder strength of a grits and gravy fueled lumberjack to haul said bags from point A to point B, are not the most ideal packing receptacles for your upcoming snorkeling safari with us. Of course, in many places it’s possible to find the free push carts for our larger luggage, but sometimes it’s not, and in these instances, you’ll be left with no option but to laboriously schlepp your shapeless zippered duffel through the airport terminals. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/fe6a3070-7568-4442-5211-bc883895a25c.jpg) To save our bodies from unnecessary physical stress or strain, **luggage with wheels** is the absolute best option. Also, I always prefer something with some internal straps and mesh compartments to keep your valuables in place and organized during transit. **Categories:** Equipment, On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation --- ### [How to Pack for a Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/01/20/how-to-pack-for-a-snorkel-venture/) **Published:** January 20, 2021 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** First of all, this is not a blog on *what* to pack for a snorkeling safari, that information is [here](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/07/31/what-to-pack-for-a-snorkel-safari/). This blog is all about *how* to pack for a snorkeling adventure with us. It may sound like a simple enough subject—just toss in a week’s worth of tropical clothes and your snorkel and mask into a bag and off you go—but with the varying restrictions between your international and any domestic flights we may need to take to reach our ultimate destination, it’s a good idea to pack with a bit of a plan. **International Flight** Your main [international flight](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/08/04/tips-for-flying-to-asia-from-the-united-states/) from your home country to any one of the countries where the tour will be held is fairly straightforward. Just make sure you are within the weight restrictions for both checked and hand-carry bags and all should be well. With that in mind though, do also keep in mind the weight requirements for any upcoming domestic flights you may have once in the country our snorkel safari is in. For example, if our domestic flight from Bali or Jakarta to Komodo only allows for a maximum of 30kg for our checked luggage and 7kg of hand-carry baggage, you wouldn’t want to have a total luggage weight exceeding 37kgs even if your international flight allows for more than this. ![Air asia baggage guide | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/airasia-baggage-guide.jpg) **Domestic Flights** For some of our snorkeling safaris, we will be taking one or several domestic flights, particularly in Indonesia. So, it’s a good idea to adjust your packing a bit once you landed in the designated country. First of all, many of our domestic flights will be on smaller planes that will have more restrictions on hand cary luggage size and weights than a large international flight. For most domestic flights the hand-carry maximum weight is 7kg. Along with that, some of the overhead storage compartments are quite narrow so if you have a larger hand-carry bag it’s a good idea to confirm with us or the domestic carrier what their luggage size restrictions are. Outside of luggage size and weight restrictions, it’s also a good idea to really plan what you pack in both your checked bag as well as your hand cary bag. Our Wakatobi safari, for example, involves a private charter flight from Bali to Wakatobi resort where our checked bags will be dropped of at our rooms several hours after we arrive at the resort. So, with situations like this in mind, it’s a good idea to pack an essential toiletry kit, a spare change of clothes, any medication, glasses, or prescription goggles, and any personal electronics you may need like a laptop or camera in your hand-carry bag. Something else to consider bringing is a power bank to keep your mobile devices charged during flights and car/boat rides. ![carry on essentials | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/Carry-On-Essentials.jpg) You may also find that for some domestic flights the regulations for what items can be carried on and what needs to be checked are more stringent, so we’ve included a generalized list of what items should go where. Please note, this is not an official list of what can be checked and what can not, just a generalized list of items often overlooked by guests. **Liquids:** All liquid items over 100ml need to go in your **CHECKED BAG** **Aerosols:** Things like shaving cream and aerosol deodorant or sun cream also need to go in your **CHECKED BAG.** **Tripods:** All tripods and selfie sticks—basically anything stick-shaped—need to go in your **CHECKED BAG.** **Prescription Masks/Glasses & Medication:** Any medication or prescription masks/goggles/glasses *should* go in your **HAND CARY.** **Batteries:** All batteries, including power banks, need to be in your **HAND CARRY** bag. We strongly suggest keeping your batteries together in one container rather than scattered about in your bag, just in case the gate agent needs to see them. **Categories:** On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling tips --- ### [Snorkeling with Humpback Whales: The Most Profound Encounter You’ll Ever Have Snorkeling](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/12/07/the-most-profound-encounter-youll-ever-have-snorkeling/) **Published:** December 7, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** One could argue that there is no species in the ocean, let alone the world, more charismatic than whales, most notably the humpback whale. With their wing-like pectoral fins the mothers use to cuddle their calves and slap the surface, their affinity for breaching in impressive aerobatic displays, the beautiful songs they sing underwater which can be heard from up to twenty miles away, and of course, their gentle curiosity towards snorkelers all make the humpbacks one of the most iconic species on the planet. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/P1005403.jpg) Even though humans nearly hunted humpbacks to extinction years ago, mother humpbacks are surprisingly tolerant of snorkelers interacting with their newborn calves. Some say the mothers are trying to socialize their offspring. I tend to think it’s just an exhausted mom looking for any excuse to get a break from her rambunctious offspring. Whatever the reason, having a whale calf the size of a minibus playfully amble towards you—looking about as confident with its long pectoral fins as a baby giraffe does with its stilt-like legs—will give you goosebumps of joy. What’s truly profound about the whole encounter, though, is that Mom is calmly watching from below, allowing this interaction to happen. Every so often, her gentle song cuts through the water, reverberating through your body like some sort of Gregorian chant. When playtime is over, mom slowly rises to the surface–dwarfing her playful puppy dog of a baby, and then escorts it back into the blue. Having had this experience, at least for me, no reef, fish, turtle, or ray encounter will ever compare with the experience of having one of the largest living sentient beings trust you with its newborn offspring. It is truly a life-changing encounter! The reason I bring this up is, we just so happened to be running trips to the [**Dominican Republic!**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/dominican-republic-humpback-whale-tour/) Off the north coast of the Dominican Republic is an area known as the Silver Bank, which happens to be one of the largest congregation spots for mother humpback whales, their calves, and the occasional male escort! It’s also one of the few places in the world where you can swim with these majestic mammals. We’ve chartered a liveaboard that specializes in whale snorkeling expeditions. For the duration of this tour, we plan to spend not just a few hours snorkleing alongside these gentle giants, but days. With the amount of time we intend to spend with the whales, we’ll really get to acquaint ourselves with the whales, thereby making each and every encounter more and more special. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/P1004836.jpg) I’m ecstatic to be leading these tours, as the one humpback encounter I had a couple of years ago was easily one of the best moments in my life, and I can not wait to share more similar encounters with you all! This is truly a trip of a lifetime, and I wouldn’t want anyone to miss out on what could possibly be one of the most profound encounters you’ll ever have. **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life, On Tour **Tags:** best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, humpback, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography, whale --- ### [Foggy Underwater Camera Housing: Solved](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/07/15/26253-2/) **Published:** July 15, 2020 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** There is nothing worse than an underwater camera housing that always fogs up. Luckily, there’s a few quick and simple steps to consistently keep your camera housing from fogging up. **1. Keep the Housing Dry** Keeping any amount of moisture out of your camera housing is the quickest and easiest way to maintain a fog-free underwater housing. Any time you are opening up or closing the housing, or even just cleaning the o-ring, you need to be particularly aware of every single drop of water. If you close the housing up with just a drop of water inside, that water will quickly turn to into water vapor once the inside of the housing heats up, as you begin shooting underwater. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_6683-copy-scaled.jpg) **2. Keep the Housing Cool** Since it is quite likely that there will be a small droplet of water hiding in the housing somewhere, it’s always a good idea to keep the housing in a shady place any time your are in between snorkels. Also, any time you are aren’t using it underwater, try and keep the camera turned off so that the heat the camera emits when it’s constantly on wont’ vaporize any water droplets inside. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_6677-copy-scaled.jpg) **3. Silica Packets** Many people will try to solve their foggy housing issue by inserting a desiccant pack into the housing. While these little sachets will absorb moisture in the event of a minor flooding, they will not pull any moisture residing in the crevices of the housing, so whatever moisture is still in the housing will very likely remain where it was. Also, whatever moisture these desiccant packets do absorb, once the camera housing heats up, the moisture held within the desiccant pack will once again be vaporized, and we’re left in the same situation as when we started. Long story short, desiccant packets are there to assist in the event of a flood, not prevent fogging. In fact, if you leave a semi-saturated desicant packet in your camera housing, it will actually promote fogging. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/IMG_6689-copy-scaled.jpg) **Categories:** Photography, Tips & Advice **Tags:** how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips --- ### [Everything you need to Know about Liveaboards](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/02/16/everything-you-need-to-know-about-liveaboards/) **Published:** February 16, 2023 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** When we first started Snorkel Venture, we didn’t have any liveaboard snorkeling safaris. All of our snorkel tours were land-based at resorts. As interest in snorkel travel grew, and our many repeat guests were looking for different snorkeling itineraries and destinations, we ventured into the realm of liveaboards. Personally, I was excited about this as I spent five years living and working on a liveaboard in Indonesia prior to joining Snorkel Venture. But more than just having a background with liveaboards, I genuinely believe the snorkeling options and overall travel logistics can be more favorable in many ways, here’s why. **Travel Logistics:** - Liveaboards typically depart from larger port towns that have quick and easy access to airports and supplies. In order to arrive to the boat, you just have to meet the team waiting for you at the airport and let them shuttle you to the harbor where you’ll board the vessel. - With a liveaboard, you can explore much further than you can at a resort as you have the ability to sail through the night and also during surface intervals. - With liveaboards, there is also the option to snorkel in several different destinations without having to do the whole pack, transfer, and unpack routine as you would if you were land-based and moving from resort to resort. For example, our Raja Ampat-Halmahera-North Sulawesi liveaboard snorkel safari takes us from Raja Ampat through Halmahera and into Lembeh in North Sulawesi, or vice versa, all without having to step foot in an airport or transfer boat. ![coralia liveaboard sun deck | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Dinner-Table-3-Coralia-Liveaboard-by-ArtAndWater-copy.jpg) **Snorkeling:** - Sea and weather conditions are always changing. With a liveaboard, in most locations, we have the ability to move the boat so we’re in the most accommodating conditions for that area. For example, in [Belize](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-by-liveaboard-aggressor-iv/), if the weather is unfavorable around the Turneffe Atoll, we can quite easily re-route to Glover’s Reef or Lighthouse Reef and snorkel around these locations until the weather moves on. The same goes for [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/). If we hear that the visibility isn’t great in Misool (southern Raja Ampat), we can spend the beginning of the trip in the northern parts of Raja where it will most likely have better snorkeling conditions before moving onto the south as the conditions improve. - You never know what surprises you’ll get on a liveaboard. As you are surrounded by the magnificent ocean 24-7, it’s entirely possible to spot anything from mantas, dolphins, whales, dugongs, and even whale sharks as you relax on board! ![aerial perspective of Omura's whale surfacing | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/whale-and-liveaboard-scaled.jpg) To give you a better idea of what the onboard lifestyle, accommodation, and general amenities are really like onboard the liveaboards we work with, here are some answers to common questions we get about our liveaboard snorkel safaris. **Frequently Asked Questions** **How big is the boat?** Each liveaboard will vary in size by several meters, but here’s what you can generally expect in terms of layout. At least 3 floors where you’ll have private cabins & toilets, dining areas, spacious in-door and out-door lounging areas, camera rooms or tables, plenty of storage space for wet snorkel gear, and designated gear-up areas. Several of the liveaboards we use have rooftop Jacuzzies and bars on the top deck! ![Mermaid II saloon | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/Saloon_1-copy.jpg) [Mermaid II](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-halmahera-lembeh-snorkeling-mermaid-ii-liveaboard/): 33 meters / 108 feet [Belize Aggressor IV](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-by-liveaboard-aggressor-iv/): 42 meters /138 feet [Coralia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/): 48 meters / 157 feet Amira: 52 meters / 170 feet [Palau Aggressor II](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-snorkeling-safari/): 32 meters / 104 feet [Red Sea Aggressor IV](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-snorkeling-safari-2024/): 43 meters / 143 feet [Aqua Tiki II](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/): 18 meters / 60 feet **Will there be divers onboard?** NO! Any time we offer a liveaboard snorkel safari it means we’ve chartered the entire boat just for us snorkelers. **What are the cabins like?** ![cabin on coralia liveaboard | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Coralia-Liveaboard-Master-cabin-with-sea-view-copy.jpg) Cabins will vary from boat to boat, obviously, the bigger the boat the bigger the cabins. A little also depends on which type of cabin you go for. Some liveaboards will have different types of cabins, such as master cabins or budget cabins. Regardless, all the cabins will have comfortable beds with different configurations – bunked, two twins, single queen or king bed, etc. All cabins will have AC and storage areas, some have TV’s and desks, and all have private toilets with hot water showers. Currently, the only cabins that have an adjoining toilet with a room next to them are the two budget cabins on Mermaid II. [ ![Red Sea Aggressor IV cabins | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Red-Sea-Aggressor-Cabin-scaled-720x480.jpg) Red Sea Aggressor ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Red-Sea-Aggressor-Cabin-scaled.jpg "Red Sea Aggressor Cabin") [ ![Belize aggressor IV cabin | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P1355155-720x480.jpg) Belize Aggressor IV ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/P1355155.jpg "P1355155") [ ![Mermaid II Cabin | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/P1522462-Edit-copy-720x480.jpg) Mermaid II ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/P1522462-Edit-copy.jpg "P1522462-Edit copy") [ ![cabin on coralia liveaboard | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Coralia-Liveaboard-lower-deck-cabin-bathroom-copy-720x480.jpg) Coralia ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Coralia-Liveaboard-lower-deck-cabin-bathroom-copy.jpg "Coralia Liveaboard lower deck cabin bathroom copy") **Is the boat noisy?** Boats by nature will generally have more ambient noise than a resort. Even when the boat isn’t moving you can hear the gentle lapping of the waves against the hull and a constant hum from the generator. Some wood boats will have a light creaking sound if there are any waves, but steel ships won’t. At times there can be louder noises like the engine or the anchor being pulled up. If you are particularly sensitive to noise, get in touch with us and we can help you find the quietest room possible. **What is the food like?** The food is quite excellent on all the boats. You will not go hungry with the multi-course meals and ever-present snacks. Nearly all dietary requirements can be met by most boats with advanced notice. In more remote locations like French Polynesia food options can be a bit more limited, but quantity and quality will not be! ![Red Sea Aggressor IV restaurant | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Red-Sea-Aggressor-Restaurant-scaled.jpg) **How do we get into the water from the boat?** We will almost always board a smaller tender boat to move from the big boat to the reefs we will be snorkeling on. These tenders will all have ladders going into the water so we can easily climb out after the snorkel. In certain places there may be times when we will enter the water from the boat’s rear dive platform and exit via the boat’s large ladders. ![Coralia tender boat departing from Coralia Liveaboard in Indonesia | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Coralia-Tender-scaled-e1676528575868.jpg) **How many guests on board?** [Mermaid II](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-halmahera-lembeh-snorkeling-mermaid-ii-liveaboard/): Max 20 Belize Aggressor IV: Max 18 [Coralia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/): Max 16 Amira: Max 20 [Palau Aggressor II](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-snorkeling-safari/): Max 16 [Red Sea Aggressor IV](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-snorkeling-safari-2024/): Max 24 [Aqua Tiki II](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/): Max 6 **Is there WiFi?** Some boats will have a WiFi hotspot that you can connect to when the boat is within range of a signal, but the best thing to do is to expect there not to be WiFi. **What is the route?** ![Mermaid II liveaboard in front of Islands | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/DJI_0995.jpg) We always have a general route in mind, and for the most part, hold to that route, but at times we need to adjust for the weather and sea conditions. The beauty of liveaboards are that we can easily go to where the snorkeling conditions are at their best. We will, of course, start and finish the trip as per the original itinerary. **Can we go to land at all?** Yes, on just about all of our snorkeling safaris there will be an option to visit an island, village, or beach for a little bit. ![guests posing in Raja Ampat viewpoint | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/DJI_0131-scaled.jpg) **What else is there to do onboard?** Aside from the incredible meals, and comfortable common areas, there’s plenty to do onboard. Most of the boats will have large living rooms with televisions and a big collection of movies, there are games, fish ID books, sun loungers, and areas to edit photos and videos. You can also get a massage on many of the liveaboards from their onboard masseuse, enjoy a sunset or afternoon cocktail (if it’s after your last snorkel of the day), or jump on a paddleboard or a kayak as most of the boats will have them available for you to use! ![guests on a liveaboard cheers cocktails | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Alcohol-scaled.jpg) **Will the Liveaboard Move Much?** It depends on what you mean by “move.” If you mean, from place to place, it depends on your itinerary and destination. For example, on our Cuba snorkeling safari the boat moves from the harbor to the Jardines de la Reina several hours away and this will remain on a mooring for the duration of the snorkeling safari. Other trips, like our [Raja Ampat Liveaboard Snorkeling Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/), [Belize Liveaboard Snorkeling Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-by-liveaboard-aggressor-iv/), [Egypt Snorkeling Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-snorkeling-safari-2024/), [Palau Snorkeling Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-snorkeling-safari/), or our [Raja Ampat-Halmahera-Lembeh Snorkeling Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-halmahera-lembeh-snorkeling-mermaid-ii-liveaboard/) the boats may be cruising anywhere from a couple of hours during a surface interval to all night as we move to the next destination. If by “move” you mean rocking from the waves, it’s best to assume that there will be some rocking and rolling especially if the itinerary includes a lot of travel through the open ocean. Obviously, we plan our trips for the calmest times of the year, but the ocean is a tricky thing and tends to have some swell and chop even in its calmest conditions. If you are prone to [sea-sickness](https://snorkelventure.com/2022/01/18/how-to-control-seasickness/), there are a number of ways you can still enjoy a liveaboard snorkeling safari without spending it in the fetal position or with your head in a toilet. ![Belize aggressor IV | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/DJI_0891.jpg) **Categories:** On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, Komodo, liveaboard, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Alex's Work Featured in a New Netflix Series](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/12/10/alexs-work-featured-in-a-new-netflix-series/) **Published:** December 10, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Back in 2022, during the middle of the pandemic, I had the unique opportunity of filming for a new series that would feature the different oceans around the world, the magnificent creatures that live within them, and some of the threats us humans are imposing on the oceans, such as plastic. My task was to film one of the ocean’s most charismatic creatures, and one we see frequently on our snorkeling safaris here in Indonesia—manta rays. It wasn’t the manta’s unique cleaning or courting behavior the production team was after though, it was their feeding behavior they were interested in, more specifically, how they congregate and feed in bays full of plastic waste pushed into the sea after heavy rains. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/a25ab193-ac55-b813-ee8c-cc668db4aeab.jpg) Mantas feed on plankton, and plankton is pushed around by the ocean’s currents. These currents will inevitably push plankton into certain bays where it collects and the mantas can feed more easily as the plankton density is very high. Unfortunately, these same currents also push all the ocean plastics into the same bays where the mantas feed. This is what I was tasked with filming. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/DJI_0135.jpg) While some of the imagery might be an abrupt reminder of our impact on the oceans, the vast majority of the series is about the unique behavior and serene environments our oceans host. This series will no doubt go down as one of the greatest achievements in wildlife filmmaking as there are some extraordinary sequences in here that have never before been filmed, or even seen before up until the time of filming. For example, while filming an octopus with an already unique way of building its den, the film team discovered that the octopus was also collecting small stones in its siphon to shoot at inquisitive fish, like a pea shooter, so they wouldn’t blow the octopus’s cover! Alex’s footage is featured on the Indian Ocean’s episode as is the clever little octopus! **Categories:** Conservation, Marine Life **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Snorkel For Good: 2024 Donation Update](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/11/14/snorkel-for-good-2024-donation-update/) **Published:** November 14, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Like all of you, we are very aware of the fragile state of the ocean. Ocean plastics, overfishing, mass tourism, coastal development, pesticides, sewage, warming sea temperatures, and illegal & destructive fishing methods are just a few human-caused threats to the ocean. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/DJI_0135.jpg) It’s not all doom and gloom though, there is an army of marine conservation groups all over the world who specialize in a whole array of tactics to help combat these destructive pressures on the oceans and everything that lives within it. Marine conservation isn’t free though, in fact, it’s very expensive as it requires teams of people to research, enact, and enforce regulations, boats and fuel to patrol marine protected areas, new technologies like satellite tags and receivers to track animal movements, and custom built laboratories to cultivate new populations of threatened species for release back into the wild, just to name a few of the things that are financially very absorbent. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/P1006516.jpg)A juvenile leopard shark and a leopard shark egg about to hatch in one of the custom-made ocean labs for ReShark, a leopard shark re-wilding program currently underway in Raja Ampat, for which Thrive Conservation and the Misool Foundation are a part of.As we share the same concern for the ocean’s future, and also because our livelihoods are very much dependent on the health of the ocean, we decided to lend a hand in its preservation. Now, since we are travel specialists and not marine conservation specialists we figured that the best way for us to have the most impact would be to help raise money for different marine conservation groups around the world via two different fundraising campaigns under our [Snorkel for Good](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/) initiative. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/P1455646-2.jpg) Our first fundraising campaign is with our [rashguard program](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/), where we sell custom-designed rashguards made by [Four Element](https://fourthelement.com/). These rashguards are made from reclaimed ocean plastics and ghost nets and one-hundred percent of each sale goes to the [Misool Foundation](https://www.misoolfoundation.org/). The Misool Foundation is the registered charity arm of [Misool Resort in Raja Ampa](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/12/22/snorkelers-guide-to-misool-resort/)t and their mission is to “safeguard the most biodiverse reefs on Earth through the empowerment of local communities, providing a structure by which they are able to reclaim their traditional tenure-ship of reefs.” Thanks to your rashguard purchases, since we launched this campaign we’ve been able to donate around $13,000 to the Misool Foundation! Our [Every Trip Program](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) is our second fundraising campaign, and couldn’t be more simple. With every booking made through Snorkel Venture, we donate $100 to one of our [five charity partners.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) Our current charity partners include [Thrive Conservation](https://thriveconservation.org/), [Bite Back-Shark and Marine Conservation](https://www.bite-back.com/?v=b80bb7740288), [The Reef-World Foundation](https://reef-world.org/), [Manta Trust](https://www.mantatrust.org/), and the [Misool Foundation](https://www.misoolfoundation.org/). Each of these different marine conservation groups specializes in a whole array of conservation efforts that span from working with coastal communities, local governments, and of course the reefs and species we all love and want to protect for future generations. Again, thanks to all your bookings we were able to contribute a total of $20,000 to our charity partners this October, and are on track for over $55,000 in donations this year. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/P1012496.jpg) We are obviously very pleased to be able to make donations like this on an annual basis, but by exploring closer connections with these fantastic foundations and different fundraising methods like raffles, competitions, and tours with a closer Snorkel for Good links in the future we hope to be able to raise even more each year! For more information about our Every Trip Program and the tireless efforts of our charity partners [click here](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/). If you would like to make your own donation outside of our Snorkel For Good program, please [get in touch with](https://snorkelventure.com/contact-us/) us and we can direct you on how to do so. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/P1012134.jpg) **Categories:** Marine Life, On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, asia, conservation, indonesia snorkeling, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Travel Stress, We Deal With It So You Don’t Have To](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/11/26/travel-stress-we-deal-with-it-so-you-dont-have-to/) **Published:** November 26, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Not very often, but on occasion, we’ll get asked, “Why should we book our snorkeling tours through Snorkel Venture, and not just book the same resorts and liveaboards independently since it’s cheaper?” It’s true, you could book the same itineraries by yourself and save money. However, if you’ve ever traveled with us you’ll soon realize that there is a substantial amount of service and other amenities that come along with the extra cost of our tours. For example, all the domestic flights are included, as are the hotels, marine park fees, and most of the meals. All the snorkeling boats are diver-free and reserved exclusively for our group of snorkelers. And, of course, your snorkeling adventures will always be led by one of our experienced snorkeling professionals who will be with you every step of the way to make sure everything is fun, safe, and runs as smoothly as possible! One additional thing that’s included in the price tag of our tours, but might not be very apparent, is that for the duration of your trip, our support team is ready to work around the clock in the event of a disruption to the original planned itinerary. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/DJI_20241012182435_0039_D.jpg) A perfect example of this additional service could be applied to a situation that happened very recently. Just as our last snorkeling tours of the year were happily chugging along in Indonesia, a volcano hundreds of miles away from where we were, decided to release a little tension in the form of a sizeable ash cloud. This release–initially thought to last the better part of a day–ended up lasting for nearly two weeks. Despite the volcano’s seemingly inconsequential distance from where our groups were, this plume of ash now suspended in the earth’s stratosphere did have a notable impact on airports in its region, forcing one very important one on our tours to close. Unfortunately, the airports remained closed for an extended period of time and it became impossible for our groups to arrive at one of the destinations on their three and four-stop tours through Indonesia. Mother Nature threw us a curveball and no amount of tour preparation or veteran knowledge could have helped us hit it. However, instead of spending hours dealing with airline queues arranging alternate flights, booking new accommodations, and arranging all the transport in between, our guests were able to relax in a comfortable beachside Bali resort enjoying delicious meals, land excursions, and some snorkeling at a few of Bali’s best snorkeling sites. As our guests indulged stress-free, our support team dealt with the tangle of travel logistics for the days following. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/P1466241.jpg) I’d quickly like to point out that travel inconveniences such as the one I’ve just mentioned are few and far between. Since we started Snorkel Venture in 2019, this is the first time–aside from the Pandemic–that we have not been able to make it to one of our destinations. *(Knock on wood)* That being said, traveling in remote corners of the world will, on occasion, yield some minor inconveniences like canceled or delayed flights. When that does happen, our support team is on it, organizing alternate flights, hotels, and transportation to ensure we make it to our next destination on time. Of course, all this is happening as our guests happily engage with the reef and its inhabitants, blissfully unaware. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/P1012474.jpg) So yes, our tours cost more than what you could put together yourself. They include a lot of physical things like flights and food, but more importantly, all of our tours come with the assurance that our support team and the group leader will absorb any unforeseen travel stresses so you can relax and enjoy the adventure without missing any of the encounters you traveled all this way for. **Categories:** On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** coral reef, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, snorkeling vacation --- ### [GoPro vs Olympus TG Cameras](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/09/04/gopro-vs-olympus-tg-cameras/) **Published:** September 4, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** There’s no doubt that the most popular cameras on our snorkeling safaris are the [GoPros](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/05/23/top-tips-for-snorkeling-with-a-gopro-camera/) and the [Olympus TG](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/21/olympus-tg-photo-tip-go-abstract/) cameras. As versatile and easy to use each of these different cameras are, quite often we encounter guests on our tours who bought one of the TG cameras only to find that they prefer the GoPro’s video modes after seeing the results from one the other guests brandishing these ultra-compact action cameras. Similarly, we get a number of guests using a GoPro who admit that they would prefer a TG camera as they prefer taking photos and the much larger screen. While both cameras have the ability to capture the underwater world in beautiful colors and clarity with relative ease, each camera does have its niche, and as such, it only benefits us to take a minute to consider what it is we really want to capture with our cameras. Let’s take a look. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/P1799122.jpg) While the [GoPro](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/05/23/top-tips-for-snorkeling-with-a-gopro-camera/) does take nice photos, it’s definitely geared more towards those who are interested in the video functions but would still like to take a photo here and there. Something else that’s great about the GoPro cameras is the wide-angle lens that works amazingly for capturing larger schools of fish, reefscapes, and other big animals like mantas and turtles. That being said, because of the wide-angle lens and the camera’s 12-inch minimum focus distance, the GoPros **are not** great cameras for shooting small things like nudibranchs, crabs, shrimps, or small reef fish. Finally, one of the other great things about this camera is its ability to auto-color-correct underwater for images full of great natural colors and not just shades of blue and green. **GoPro Pros** - Waterproof out of the box - Oustanding video capabilities - Decent photo capabilities (RAW + JPEG) - Outstanding wide-angle lens - Great Auto White Balance for more accurate colors underwater - Many different aftermarket additions - Outstanding slow-motion video capabilities - Outstanding image stabilization **GoPro Cons** - Issues with batteries not charging correctly in the camera - Issues with the cameras freezing up requiring the battery to be removed - Small rear screen making it difficult to see what you are filming - Difficult to tell when you are recording and when you are not recording - Reviewing your images underwater is not possible - Wide angle lens without any zoom does not allow for filming or photographing small subjects - Minimum focus distance of 12 inches - The lack of buttons makes it difficult to navigate between filming modes and menu options *All the underwater scenes were captured with a GoPro Hero 5 during one of our* [***Misool Snorkeling Safaris***](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tours/) The Olympus TG Cameras—or Oly TGs if you want to sound really cool, are by far the most popular cameras on our snorkeling safaris. This camera is in a lot of ways like the GoPro, except it’s geared towards people who are more interested in still photos rather than video. It still does shoot video, quite well I might add, but its underwater photo abilities are what it’s best known for. Like the GoPro, the TG cameras are reasonably priced as far as cameras go and are pretty much ready to go out of the box. Its lens is not as wide as the GoPro’s, but there are some [aftermarket lenses](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/10/12/what-is-wide-angle-underwater-photography-and-what-are-the-benefits/) that you can get for a reasonable price if you really like wide-angle. That being said, if you prefer to focus on reef fish as your main subject, the stock lens is perfect for that and has a great optical zoom and macro/super macro modes. One thing I really appreciate about the TG cameras is that it’s great for beginners right out of the box, but if you decide you want to take your underwater photography a bit more seriously there’s a lot of room for that with this camera with just a couple [aftermarket purchases](https://snorkelventure.com/2022/05/06/underwater-camera-accessories-for-the-olympus-tg-6/) like flashes or [video lights](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/01/25/the-problem-with-video-lights-and-flashes-for-snorkelers/), lenses, and housings. **Olympus TG Pros** - Waterproof out of the box - Outstanding photo capabilities (RAW + JPEG) - Decent video capabilities - Outstanding auto white balance settings for very accurate colors underwater - Easy-to-navigate menus with clearly laid-out buttons - Outstanding macro capabilities out of the box - Optical zoom - Plenty of great aftermarket purchases to upgrade your camera as your skills grow - Comes with a camera flash for macro photos **Olympus TG Cons** - Image stabilization in video mode is not great - The lens is not great for wide-angle photos - If used without a housing the cameras do tend to fog up over time - The lock on the battery compartment and the cable jacks is difficult to see and tell if it’s locked or not [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/19417a67-84ea-1c16-dfbe-0be214ded260-720x480.jpg) TG-6 Macro Lens ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/19417a67-84ea-1c16-dfbe-0be214ded260.jpg "19417a67-84ea-1c16-dfbe-0be214ded260") [ ![large cuttle fish up close with a snorkeler above | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/P2272099-720x480.jpg) TG-6 with Aftermarket Wide-Angle Lens ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/P2272099.jpg "P2272099") **Categories:** Equipment, Photography **Tags:** GoPro, Olympus TG, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, TG-6, Tough Camera, underwater photography --- ### [Indonesia's Six Best Snorkeling Sites](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/09/03/indonesias-six-best-snorkeling-sites/) **Published:** September 3, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** With over 17,000 islands, [**Indonesia**](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/indonesia/) has a ton of great snorkeling destinations and sites. As snorkeling professionals, we have spent a significant amount of time exploring this vast archipelago and we’ve decided to come up with our own list of the country’s best snorkeling sites. Of course, this list is completely subject to seasons, marine life behavior, personal preferences, currents, visibility and so much more. You could snorkel what many people might consider as “the best site in Indonesia”, only to find that the marine life is scarce, the visibility is poor, and the coral doesn’t appear very vibrant on account of the cloud cover at that given moment leaving you a bit confused about what people are talking about. Please note that when talking about snorkeling sites in such a subjective way we also need to take into account the unpredictable element of nature as well. Please note that these sites aren’t ranked or presented in a sort of order, we simply think these are some of the best snorkeling sites in Indonesia. ## **Tatawa Kecil \| [Komodo](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/04/29/komodos-top-5-snorkeling-sites/)** Tatawa Kecil is not a site we are able to visit often as it’s a small rock in the middle of a very current-prone channel in Komodo. However, when the currents are amendable we can explore this small rock island and enjoy the surreal beauty beneath its rugged topside. This site is all about large hard coral formations, big fish, potential for manta rays, and all-around excitement. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/5c3d0d67-fbb6-4dde-910d-d4c463dc7978.jpg) **Current:** Mild to none *(when we snorkel it)* **Visibility**: Typically very good **Reef:** Mostly made up of hard corals with some sponges and soft corals mixed in. **Marine Life:** Anthias, Fusileers, Bluefin Trevally, Giant Trevally, Napoleon Wrass, Giant Sweetlips, Many different types of butterfly fish and angel fish, Scorpionfish, Hawksbill Sea turtles, Whitetip Reef sharks, Moray Eels, Decent chances for encounters with manta rays and eagle rays ## **The Great Wall of Pantar \| [Alor](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/08/alor-snorkeling-guide/)** The Great Wall of Pantar is one of [Alor’s](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-forgotten-islands/) most famous sites, and for good reason. The actual wall part of this site isn’t very long, maybe only fifty meters or so, but it doesn’t matter because there is so much going on in every square inch that it will take you the better part of an hour to move past it. The Great Wall of Pantar is just awash with colorful hard and soft corals and the reef fish that explode from it. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/6353bd7a-e978-966f-5285-9ede66f84b4d.jpg) **Current:** Mild to moderate *(when we snorkel it)* **Visibility**: Typically very good **Reef:** The wall is dominated by soft corals and sponges while the ree top is a mixture of hard and soft corals with many sponges and colonies of tunicates and beautiful algae patches mixed in. **Marine Life:** Anthias, Fusileers, Bluefin Trevally, Giant Trevally, Napoleon Wrass, Many different types of butterfly fish and angel fish, Scorpionfish, Banded Seasnake, Whitetip Reef sharks, Moray Eels, Schooling Chubs, Nudibranchs, Anemone Fish, Dragonettes ## **Mangroves \| [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/01/raja-ampat-snorkel-guide/)** The mangroves in northern Raja Ampat are probably some of the best snorkeling sites you will ever do anywhere in the world. Beautiful coral gardens with a unique mixture of hard corals, sponges, colorful soft coral, and sea grass are the foundation for the arching roots of the mangrove forests where an unusual collection of marine life inhabit. ![snorkel Misool | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/1st_alexlindbloom_30515-scaled.jpg) **Current:** Mild to none **Visibility**: Typically very good **Reef:** The area directly beneath the mangroves is dominated by sponges and beautiful patches of algae with some soft corals here and there. The plateau and slope just beyond where the roots meet the ground is a mixture of hard corals with many sponges and some sand patches. **Marine Life:** Archerfish, Juvenile batfish, Cuttlefish, Octopus, Pajama cardinalfish, Chromies, Fusileers, Anemonyfish, Nudibranchs, Signal gobies, Reef sharks, Hawksbill sea turtles, Mangrove snappers, crocodile needlefish, crocodile fish, decent chances for mobula rays ## **Montse’s Garden \| [Halmahera](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/halmahera-snorkeling-tour/)** This was a site I discovered while visiting [Kusu Island Resort](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/halmahera-snorkeling-tour/) prior to its opening. It was so expansive and beautiful that I unofficially named it after my lovely wife, Montse. Can you say brownie points!? This site is so big it could technically be three different sites, but when the current is right we can drift over the whole stunning array of hard and soft corals bursting with life. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/ee0c3bc0-458e-817d-f426-1e22de093c4d.jpg) **Current:** Mild to moderate *(when we snorkel it)* **Visibility**: Typically very good **Reef:** The plateau and slope are dominated by a variety of hard corals with some bommies (coral heads) completely covered in sponges, soft corals, and sea fans. **Marine Life:** Anthias, Fusileers, Bluefin Trevally, Giant Trevally, Napoleon Wrass, Many different types of butterfly fish and angel fish, Scorpionfish, Banded Seasnake, Blacktip Reef sharks, Moray Eels, Octopus, Nudibranchs, Anemone Fish, Bumphead parrotfish ## **Little Komodo \| [Triton Bay](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/)** This site is absolutely unreal, and I’m quite sure I’ve never experienced a site more colorful in all my time snorkeling in Indonesia. The most unique thing about this site is the bouquets of soft coral colonies that seem to bloom from the limestone rocks beneath the surface. The visibility doesn’t tend to be great, but you won’t even notice the difference once you get lost in this psychedelic wonderland. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/9c13d636-5076-a18e-7790-42690704f157.jpg) **Current:** Mild to moderate *(when we snorkel it)* **Visibility**: Average **Reef:** Predominantly dominated by soft corals and black coral colonies with some hard corals mixed in **Marine Life:** Anthias, Fusileers, Bluefin Trevally, Schooling silversides, Napoleon Wrass, Many different types of butterfly fish and angel fish, Scorpionfish, Banded Seasnake, Blacktip Reef sharks, Whitetip reef shark, Bumphead parrotfish, Moray Eels, Octopus, Nudibranchs, Anemone Fish ## **Lekuan \| [Bunaken](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/21/north-sulawesi-snorkeling-guide/)** If you like turtles, beautiful corals, and lots of reef fish, then this is the site for you. In one seventy-minute snorkel at this Lekuan area just off Bunaken Island you can expect to see anywhere from ten to fifty turtles meandering about. It’s pretty unreal. If you get bored of following sea turtles around you can lose yourself in the colorful chaos that is the hard coral reef which drops into a vertical wall into the deep blue and is lined with sea fans and soft corals. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1011016.jpg) **Current:** Mild to moderate *(when we snorkel it)* **Visibility**: Typically good **Reef:** The plateau is dominated by a variety of hard corals while the wall is covered in sponges, soft corals, and sea fans. **Marine Life:** Green sea turtles, Hawksbill sea turtles, Fusileers, Bluefin Trevally, Redtoothed triggerfish, Green sea turtles, Napoleon Wrass, Many different types of butterfly fish and angel fish, Scorpionfish, Banded Seasnake, More green sea turtles, Moray Eels, Octopus, Anemone Fish, and Green sea turtles **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life **Tags:** Alami Alor Resort, Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, halmahera, indonesia snorkeling, raja ampat, snorkel safari, Snorkel vacation, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Indonesia Snorkeling Review](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/05/12/indonesia-in-a-nutshell/) **Published:** May 12, 2020 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Indonesia is a massive country, and because it’s broken up into over seventeen thousand islands it can be a bit confusing to know what is where, especially if you are a bit geographically challenged as I was before I moved here. I don’t want to make broad assumptions about people I have yet to meet, but I have a sneaking suspicion that a lot of people might not know a lot that Borneo is not it’s own country and in fact three countries, the majority of which is Indonesia and known as Kalimantan. Or, that Indonesia also occupies about half of the world’s second-largest island, which I’m sure you’ve all heard of—New Guinea. The Indonesian side is known as West Papua and is the home of Raja Ampat, while east of the border is Papua New Guinea. If you already knew all this, gold stars for you! Anyway, the objective of this blog isn’t to make you self-conscious of your Indonesian geography, I know for a fact that many Indonesian people couldn’t point out Wakatobi on a map. The point of this is to simply break down one of the most beautiful countries in the world, by focusing on the locations which also conveniently happen to be Snorkel Venture destinations! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/INDO-IN-A-NUTSHELL-MAP.jpg) **Fun Indo Facts** - 17,000 Islands - 127 Volcanoes - 300 Different Languages - Center of Coral Triangle - World’s Highest Coral and Reef Fish Diversity **Jakarta and Bali** I’m not going to spend a lot of time with these two locations but they do deserve mentioning as a lot of our trips will begin at either one of these locations. Jakarta as you probably know is the capital of Indonesia and located on the island of Java. Jakarta is, for lack of a better description, a big city really well known for it’s traffic jams. Lucky for us this is just a transitory stop where we are essentially just using the airport and it’s comfortable hotel to relieve some of the jet lag before taking off to our final destinations. ![bali rice fields and volcano | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/DJI_0892.jpg) Bali on the other hand, while we also use the airport and it’s hotel the same way as we do Jakarta’s, is well worth a visit beyond the boundaries of the Airport. I would even suggest spending a bit of time here before or after the tour just to get a better feel for the island as it really is amazing. The island is full of interesting cultural sites, luxurious villas and boutique resorts, amazing food, jungles, and wonderful beaches. [**Komodo**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/komodo-snorkeling/) ![Komodo Resort Aerial Perspective | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Komodo-Snorkel-Week.jpg) Moving onto one of Indonesia’s most famous locations, Komodo. Komodo National Park is just a short one hour flight from Bali, and also one of Indonesia’s most iconic destinations. The park is made up of twenty nine islands, four of which are home to the Komodo Dragons. The snorkeling here is exceptional with over seven hundred species of fish and two hundred and sixty coral species. There is such a concentration of marine life in this park that you can readily predict what each snorkel session will be like. Manta rays are all over the place and can, quite frequently, be encountered in large numbers. Turtles are also prolific as well as other creatures like cuttle fish and large schools of fish. One of the beauties of Komodo is that the reefs are so diverse that no two snorkels will be the same. There are mangroves, sloping reefs, plateaus, walls, drifts, bays, manta cleansing stations, and of course the resort’s pier which attracts a ton of marine life. *A quick video showcasing our Komodo Tours* [**Alor**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-snorkel-safari/) ![Pristine coral reef in Alor | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1677510.jpg) Alor is a small cluster of islands just east of Komodo and accessed by a short flight from Jakarta. Alor is still quite un touched by tourism and with only a couple snorkel and dive resorts in the area. This is not to say the snorkeling is any less spectacular than some of Indonesia’s other top destinations. It’s quite the opposite. Because Alor is only now just becoming familiar with snorkelers and divers, and the local villages have really looked after their reefs by practicing more sustainable fishing methods, the areas reefs have remained in a near pristine state. Fringing the entire coastline of the area you can find a truly some of the most colorful and diverse reefs on the planet. The cold water rising from the south brings in nutrients that sustain the smaller fish which in turn bring in the larger animals like super pods of dolphins and melon head whales, mola mola, and if you are lucky a blue whale or two! These larger species are difficult to snorkel with as they are quite shy, but no less spectacular when they pass just in font of the boat. Much like Komodo, the reefs in Alor are very diverse not only in coral species and marine life, but also in style. We have a few piers that make fantastic and highly unique snorkeling spots—one of which is our resort’s pier and only a few feet from your bungalow, but also some fantastic mellow drifts, walls, and sloping reefs, all of which just seem to keep going and going. *A quick video showcasing our Alor Tours* [**Bunaken- North Sulawesi**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/north-sulawesi-raja-ampat%e2%94%822018/) **![Split shot of sea stars in sea grass and a sunset | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_4279.jpg)** One of the other major islands in Indonesia is Sulawesi, it’s the big silly shaped one in the middle. It is also home to some fantastic snorkeling, outstanding resorts, and really easy to arrive to from Bali. In the north we have five island just off the coast known as the Bunaken Natioanl Park, and in the south east we have another marine reserve known as Wakatobi. But now, lets talk about Bunaken. ![View of pool and bar at Siladen Resort | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1077102-Pano.jpg) To arrive to Bunaken we have to take a short one and a half hour flight from Bali to Manado, and then hop on one of the resorts large boats for athirty minute ride to the resort. So easy! The snorkeling here is really amazing with shallow hard coral plateaus that fringe the varying islands and then suddenly drop into the deep blue. Back in the day sea turtles were hunted here for their meet and eggs, but since the tourism industry has established itself and the declaration of the marine reserve the local turtle population is booming! Green sea turtles frequent the white sand beaches in front of the bungalows to nest and with a bit of luck you can witness an emergence of hundreds of baby sea turtles as they make a mad dash to the sea. Currents are vey mild here in Bunaken and the visibility and conditions are fairly consistent year round. Many of the other locations around Indonesia have a distinct high and low season which coincides with the wet and dry seasons. *A quick video showcasing our North Sulawesi tours which are either combined with Raja Ampat or Borneo* [**Wakatobi- South East Sulawesi**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/wakatobi-snorkeling/) ![aerial view of wakatobi resort | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Nature-at-Your-Doorstep-1.mp4.342.Still002.jpg) Whether it’s the private charter flight from Bali to the resort’s own air strip, the idyllic palm studded islands fringed by white sand beaches, or the surreal underwater world, Wakatobi is definitely a place you wont forget. Wakatobi is located quite a ways off the south east coast of Sulawesi in the Banda Sea. The islandscape looks very similar to the Maldives as the area is made up of many small low lying islands with white sand beaches. The robust reefs start at the surface, and at times when the tide is low the reefs actually break the surface. From here they gradually slope away from the atolls eventually dropping of into the blue water. There is no shortage of colorful reef fish here and the reefs are actually some of the most diverse in the world with seven hundred different species of coral. Currents do tend be be quite mild as well, similar to Bunaken, and also like the Bunaken, Wakatobi’s weather and sea conditions remain pretty consistent year round. *A quick video showcasing our Wakatobi Tours* [**Raja Ampat**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-eco-resort-9-day-snorkel-tour/) ![Split shot of coral reef below and raja ampat islands above | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_1662.jpg) Raja Ampat is, as I said in the beginning, part of West Papua. Raja does take a bit more effort to arrive to as the flight from Jakarta is about four hours, but I promise it is absolutely worth the couple extra hours in the plane. Raja Ampat is often referred to as the crown jewel for snorkeling in Indonesia, and for many people, the world. It’s reefs are teeming with life, big and small, and astonishingly vibrant.With over 1,766 fish species and counting and over 550 coral species, Raja Ampat is the most biodiverse marine environment in the world. What’s more is that since this massive area has been declared a marine sanctuary, the marine life is thriving, and species like sharks and manta rays which were nearly wiped out years ago are coming back fast and showing some really impressive numbers. Don’t worry, the sharks are honestly more scared of you than you should be of them. ![Black tip reef sharks in shallow water | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/P1288319-copy.jpg) Something to make note of with regard to Raja Ampat is that it is a very very big area. If you compare Komodo National Park with Raja Ampat, it’s like six times bigger and made up of over 600 islands with endless bays, sea mounds, lagoons, and mangrove labyrinths. In light of the marine sanctuary’s large size, it’s a good idea to have a rough idea of the different regions of Raja before you book a trip as each region is slightly different. If you choose a resort which is located in the northern portion of Raja, that’s where you will concentrate your snorkeling, in the north. If decide to do the option in the south, an area known as Misool, then your tour will be focused there. There is the liveaboard option which will do a bit of the north and the south, but once again, even with a liveaboard the area is so big you still won’t even come close to seeing it all. In my own personal experience, I worked on a liveaboard in Raja for five consecutive years and every year we would still be finding new places to explore. It’s a truly exciting place full of mystery and beautiful surprises. ![Large school of fish over coral reef | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_4792.jpg) What’s the snorkeling like in Raja? Well, it has it all, and in vast quantities. Big schools of batfish, jacks, barracudas, mantas, sharks, the occasional whale shark, all the reef fish you could ever imagine, and the odd chance of a whale spouting on the horizon. It’s epic. *A quick video showcasing the liveaboard option for Raja Ampat, for more videos of our different Raja Tours check out our [Youtube Channel ](https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCR2KU7V_cDVy_P-WO2YgThg?view_as=subscriber)or click [here](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/snorkeling-misool-eco-resort/).* **Kalimantan- Indonesian Borneo** ![Aerial view of Nunukan Island and reef | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Island1-copy.jpg) Kalimantan has more than some of the oldest, densest jungles in the world where giant ginger primates dwell, it also has chains of idyllic islands surrounded by beautiful reefs. A remote island off of Borneo might seem like a real trek to arrive to, but it’s really only two short flights from Jakarta and a thirty to a forty-minute boat ride to Nunuken Island, then it’s snorkel time! The reefs that surround the island are typical Indonesian reefs—abundant, vibrant, and thriving. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Jellylake1-copy.jpg) There are also good chances to encounter mantas feeding or cleaning on one of their cleaning stations. But what is most intriguing, at least for me, is the ‘lake’ full full full of stingless jellyfish and fringed by beautiful mangroves. *A quick video showcasing our Borneo Tour which includes a stop in Bunaken National Park* **Categories:** Destinations **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, asia, bali, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, Komodo, komodo resort, reef, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, snorkeling komodo, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, women snorkeling --- ### [Top Tips for Snorkeling with a GoPro](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/05/23/top-tips-for-snorkeling-with-a-gopro-camera/) **Published:** May 23, 2019 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** GoPro cameras have become a very popular camera for snorkeling and for a number or solid reasons. Their small size is perfect for traveling, not to mention all GoPro’s from the Hero 5 onwards are waterproof to certain depths without a housing. That being said, it’s wise to use a housing for added flood security. Even though the GoPro’s are small enough to fit in the palm of your hand, they pack a serious punch where image quality is concerned—both in the film and photo department, as they can offer up to 5K footage and a solid 27-megapixel photo with RAW format capabilities. However, despite all of these stellar specs and intuitive design—I see a lot of people struggling with their GoPro cameras in a variety of areas. So, to hopefully alleviate some of these camera issues to make your snorkeling experience better, I’ve put together a quick list of the most common problems I see with simple remedies. Here we go. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/gopro-hero7-black-front-back-2.jpg) **I never edit my footage because I always have too much** If you’re one of those people who strap the GoPro on your wrist and swim around with your arm constantly extended like Mega Man while the camera records the entirety of the snorkel session…herein lies your problem. It’s a good idea to fall into the habit of pressing record only when you want to film something. Just by doing this, you will then have a series of short clips that are much easier to scroll through and organize so you can find the exact moment you are looking for, rather than scrubbing through hours of dizzying footage. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Manta-GoPro.jpg) **Everything I film looks so small and far away** All GoPro’s are equipped with a very wide fish eye lens which causes this effect. This is a good thing though as a [really wide lens is the best for underwater imaging](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/10/12/what-is-wide-angle-underwater-photography-and-what-are-the-benefits/), so long as we keep one simple thing in mind. Get closer! We need to get close to our subjects close as physically possible without damaging the reef or bothering the subject. This will improve the overall clarity of your image as we are now shooting through less water while filling the frame with the subject. The GoPro lens is best for large subjects like turtles-mantas-and reefcapes. Shy subjects who prefer to keep their distance are not ideal subjects to concentrate on, take a mental photo, and move on. **My red filter makes everything look super red and turns the water purple** The reason for this is that you are using a red filter that is too strong, or too red, for the depth that you are. We use stronger red filters when we go deeper to compensate for the lack of red. However, since we are snorkeling and our subjects are in the shallows we need just a bit of red. Switching to a lighter shade of red—something that will work up to five meters or fifteen feet in depth—will alleviate any unappealing colors and bring out the natural colors of our subjects. Or, better yet, just remove the red filters and use the GoPro’s amazing auto-white balance mode as it does a fantastic job of automatically color correcting for the changing lighting scenarios. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/P1255151.jpg) **My videos and photos are always very shaky and blurry.** Creating more steady videos and sharp photos takes a bit of practice and possibly some simple accessories. As snorkelers we are constantly being moved around by the waves on the surface—no matter how flat the water may seem so we need to be extra aware of this. When you see something you want to film or photograph try to [duck-dive](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/10/18/snorkeling-tip-duck-diving/) down a bit, even a meter will make a huge difference. Another thing that will help will be to ditch the selfie stick and [mount your camera on a tray](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/02/12/top-3-gopro-setups/) with a single or double handle. After all, when was the last time we saw a professional camera operator using a selfie stick in the field? **Categories:** Equipment, Photography **Tags:** asia, Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, Komodo, komodo resort, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel raja ampat, snorkel safari, Snorkel Tonga, snorkeling, snorkeling komodo, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, women snorkeling --- ### [Snorkeling with Triton Bay's Whale Sharks](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/06/26/snorkeling-with-triton-bays-whale-sharks/) **Published:** June 26, 2020 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Whale sharks are easily one of the most recognizable fish in the ocean. Not only are they the largest species of shark in the ocean measuring up to sixty feet in length, but they are covered in giant white polka dots and only eat plankton and tiny fish! What more could you ask for, than a giant shark you can swim with that is also completely harmless. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/P1144438.jpg) Now, the only thing is where to find them. Whale sharks inhabit just about every tropical and temperate ocean on the planet, but they tend to live quite nomadic lives and can travel large distances making them somewhat difficult to find. They can, of course, turn up at any point during a snorkel, but a lot of times this is a quick pass-by lasting just a few seconds to a couple of minutes at most. However, there are a handful of places where whale sharks do congregate, and we as snorkelers have as close to a guarantee as you can get in the natural world for being able to snorkel with them for an extended period of time. As I said there are a few of these places where whale sharks hang out in larger groups, but one place that offers solid chances of snorkeling with several whale sharks at a time but also fantastic reefs is in [Triton Bay](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/), just south of [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/01/raja-ampat-snorkel-guide/). ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/DJI_0419.jpg) Whale sharks are dispersed all over Indonesia, but the reason they congregate here in this large bay is because, for years and years, local fishermen have been fishing in a way that has ultimately evolved into a symbiotic relationship between the fishermen and the large sharks. Silversides are a type of very small fish, very much like an anchovy, and are fished throughout the island nation using a bagan, or a large bamboo platform with giant nets that hang beneath the strange floating structure. At night, the fishermen lower the nets beneath the platform and then use a set of very bright lights to lure in large shoals of these tiny fish into the nets. All night these fishermen lower and raise their nets and throughout this process, the whale sharks start to collect around the bagans as the concentration of fish is no doubt a delicious smell for them. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/P1611688.jpg) The sharks will even suck on the nets in an attempt to force a few of these delicious little fish through the fine mesh. Rather than see the large sharks as a nuisance, the local fishermen appreciate the whale sharks’ presence as they believe the large animals are a good omen for their catch. Along with that, now that this relationship has been discovered by snorkelers and divers, this unique relationship also provides the fishermen and the communities with an additional source of income as liveaboards and resorts now pay the fishermen a fee to snorkel and dive with the whale sharks around their bagans. Not only that but because sharks are much easier to find and interact with marine biologists are able to study the animals in more detail and with much less effort. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/P1611102.jpg) For us snorkelers, this is an excellent and very unique opportunity to get in the water and swim with one or more of these whale sharks at a time as they suck up the tiny fish that have managed to escape the net. As I said earlier, whale shark encounters are normally quite fleeting, so to be able to locate them, but also float next to one or more for extended periods of time is a very unique experience. Not only that but being able to witness this relationship between the local fishermen and the sharks, where both are benefitting is the icing on the cake. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/DJI_0443.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations **Tags:** Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, reef, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, triton bay, whale shark, women snorkeling --- ### [Featured House Reef: Misool Resort | Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/07/09/33116/) **Published:** July 9, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** [Misool Resort](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/12/22/snorkelers-guide-to-misool-resort/) has, quite possibly, one of the largest house reefs of all the resorts we visit in Indonesia. You could also argue that Misool’s reef is one of the best as it’s not only beautiful, but there are so many different features to it, like the blacktip reef shark nursery, the turtle feeding grounds, or the resident school of bumphead parrotfish that always keep it interesting! One thing that a lot of guests love, particularly those staying in any of the North Lagoon villas or water cottages, is that you can access the house reef from your front porch at higher tides. That being said, out of convenience for storing your snorkeling gear and the tidal changes, the easiest place to enter the reef is from the main jetty/dock in front of The Hive—where all your snorkeling gear can be conveniently stored. I say the jetty/dock is the best place to enter the reef by because you can do so at any time. At lower tides you can not enter from your villas or water cottages as there is just not enough water in the lagoon for you to swim out of, also, at times the current can be a little bit strong, and exiting the lagoon to access the main reef can be a bit of a challenge. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/Misool-House-Reef-Map.jpg) Part of what keeps Misool Resort’s house reef so active with marine life and corals are the currents that it regularly has. Current = Life. At most times of the day, the currents will be quite mild, but you will most likely notice some current especially in the channel and on the point of the island. In mild conditions, you can swim against the current without too much effort, especially in the shallows, which will allow you to snorkel the reef however you please. However, around full or new moon the currents can be quite strong and you won’t likely be able to swim against it, even the strongest swimmers. During the few days when the currents are less amenable, you’ll want to talk with our Snorkel Venture guide or Misool’s staff about the best route for snorkeling the reef as you’ll need to plan your snorkel a bit more. This is nothing out of the ordinary or anything to be concerned about, it’s something that happens at just about every house reef we snorkel during the days around the full or new moon when the currents are at their strongest. There are plenty of spots to snorkel the house reef in stronger currents. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/P1255475.jpg) The Channel, as we call it, is the area in front of The Hive and starts with a beautiful coral plateau in the shallows that gently starts to slope away from the island. This gentle slope then turns into a more steep slope with coral bommies covered in sea fans and sponges, some sandy patches, and a few coral restoration projects spearheaded by Misool Resort. The area under and around the pier is particularly interesting as this is where a lot of the bigger fish will live, including giant groupers, lots of big snappers, Napoleon wrass, several different species of jack fish—including the giant trevally, and many larger blacktip reef sharks. From the jetty, you can go either direction, with Misool’s island on your right or left shoulder. If you go with the island on your left, that beautiful coral plateau and slope continues all the way down to the rock outcropping and beyond. If you continue around the rock outcropping you’ll find yourself in the South Beach Area. This is another cool place to snorkel, not quite as pretty as the channel side, but worth a visit at some point. However, if you do go around the corner into South Beach you’ll likely have to walk back to the north side via the manicured stone pathway. Sometimes the current can push into South Beach and it can be a bit of an effort to swim back around. If you know you’re going to go into South Beach and you don’t want to walk you can also have the tin tender boat come pick you up at a designated time. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_5528.jpg) I suspect that many of you seeing Misool’s reef for the first time from an aerial perspective are looking at the stunning blue hole just off the shores of South Beach. I hate to disappoint, but it’s prettier from the aerial perspective. There are some corals that line the edge, but mostly it’s just a sandy bottom. The best corals and marine life are found in the areas where there is more water movement, and this area just doesn’t have that much water movement. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DJI_0559.jpg) So, if you don’t go into South Beach our suggestion would be to turn around as you get to the rocky outcropping and then swim back towards The Hive. If you’re ready to get out you can exit via the wooden steps on the resort’s jetty/dock, or you can swim under the footbridge if the tide is high and the current isn’t too strong and enter the North Lagoon. There isn’t a ton of coral in the North Lagoon, a lot of the reef is sort of scrubby and not too lively on account of the warmer temperatures in the bay. However, North Lagoon is a fantastic place to spend your time as dozens of green sea turtles can be found in here munching on the sea grass growing out of the white sand. Along with the turtles, you’ll likely find blacktip reef sharks passing by, giant clams, and if you’re lucky the bumpheads will be in there munching on the hard corals closer to the mouth of the lagoon. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/P1255151.jpg) When you’re ready to exit you can either swim back to your villa or water cottage if you would like, but our suggestion would be to exit either where you entered at the jetty, or on the other wooden steps next to the foot bridge on the inside The Lagoon. At times the current will be a bit strong and you won’t be able to swim back under the bridge to get to the main jetty. Both locations will put you right at the base of The Hive where you can store your snorkeling gear. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1355705.jpg)At low very tides the reef can be completely exposedAnother popular route is to enter at the main jetty/dock and swim with The Hive on your left shoulder towards the point of the island. The beautiful reef continues this way as well, however, as you get closer to the little private villa on your left the slope turns into more of a wall, and as you get close to the point you’ll likely notice quite a bit of fish action out in the blue, especially fusileers. At this time you can either turn around and head back to the jetty/dock, or continue around the corner. The reef is now a gentle slope/plateau in the shallows and a steep wall lined with sea fans and soft corals. This is a great spot to look for more turtles cruising in the blue, more blacktip reef sharks, and schools of fish like big eye jacks, more fusileers, the bumpheads, among many of the other staple reef creatures.. If the tide is higher you can enter the North Lagoon and spend some time with the turtles and blacktips before exiting at your room or by the footbridge. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/P1022042.jpg) Finally, something we like to do with guests when there isn’t much current is to swim the short distance across the channel and explore the neighboring island’s reef which is also a part of Misool Resort. The shallow reef here is stunning and at points drops off into a vertical wall. Like the other reefs around the resort, you can expect a lot of beautiful reef fish and larger species Napoleon wrasse, bumpheads, jackfish, and of course reef sharks. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1255441.jpg) As you can see from this aerial photo there are a lot of different areas to explore at Misool, far more than I’ve just laid out. You can choose to explore the reef however you choose. That being said, for your own safety and comfort it’s always best to speak with your Snorkel Venture guide or the Misool Resort staff before heading out onto the house so they can point you in the best direction given the current situation…pun intended.![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/DJI_0317.jpg) With regards to marine life, there’s a ton of things to find on this expansive reef. In North Lagoon’s inner parts where the sand is, you’ll find green sea turtles feeding on the seagrass, as you move out of it you’ll start to find your typical reef creatures, like octopus, nudibranchs, lionfish, and more turtles—including hawksbill sea turtles. On any of the reefs, you will surely find lots of different types of juvenile species like barramundi cod, various angel fishes, and sweetlips along with the adult version of these species. The resident schooling bumphead parrotfish can turn up at any point, along with schools of smaller parrotfish species. The larger fish like the jacks, snappers, groupers, and Napoleon wrasse tend to hang out in the channel areas right in front of the resort’s pier or right under it. Where even larger species are concerned, blacktip reef sharks are seen everywhere–from the very shallows to the deeper slopes, and if you are super lucky you can spot things like eagle rays and even mantas cruising along the reef’s edges. **Categories:** House Reefs **Tags:** best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, reef, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel raja ampat, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkel with turtles, snorkeling, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [Snorkeling With Current](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/11/01/snorkeling-in-current-2/) **Published:** November 1, 2019 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** There’s a common misconception that [snorkeling with current](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkeling-in-current/) is dangerous, should be feared, and avoided. For those of you that feel this way, I want to share a few things that will hopefully help you look at the oceans current in a new, more positive light. **1. Current is essential to marine life and coral** ![colorful soft coral colony | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/IMG_5805.jpg) Currents move around the oceans nutrients delivering them to the different reefs. Indonesia for example, has a vast network of currents and in many ways the epicenter for marine biodiversity. Compare that with the Caribbean, which has much more mild currents and a fraction of the marine life. It’s said that one reef could have more species of coral and fish than the entire Caribbean ocean. dad **2. Current makes for some fantastic drifts** Certain sites work really well with the current. Sites with long fringing reefs for example can snorkeled as a drift where we jump in the up current side of the reef and let the current do all the work of moving us over the reef. All we need to do is float and enjoy the relaxing ride. **3. Current opens up the coral polyps and bring in the fish** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1677014.jpg) If you were to snorkel a site when the current is slack, the time between the two tide cycles when the current is not doing any thing, you’ll notice a huge different in marine life and the reef when compared to the same reef when the current is running. As we learned earlier the current pushes the oceans nutrients around, and when the current starts to rise or fall all the coral polyps will open up to feed on the passing particles, making this all the corals look a lot more vibrant and alive. Similarly, the fish will also be a lot more present as they too use the current as their food delivery service and you’ll find them facing into the current snapping up all the bits of food passing by. ![large school of fish in front of orange sea fan | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1277747.jpg) Current should still very much be respected in it’s power, however if you approach current the same way you would a ski slope, with a bit of caution and acknowledging the conditions, there isn’t much to worry about really. There are certainly times when the current is too strong to snorkel certain sites, in which case you might want to move to a more protected site like a bay or a drift. Basically, just because a location is known to have stronger currents doesn’t mean the snorkel sessions are going to be like a wild ride down a river, very much the opposite actually. On all of our guide led snorkeling safaris we pay extra attention to the current and with the local knowledge of the resorts we always make sure to jump in certain sites so the current is always working in our favor. **Categories:** Tips & Advice **Tags:** asia, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, women snorkeling --- ### [Manta Trust's Mobula Project Indonesia](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/06/19/manta-trusts-mobula-project-indonesia/) **Published:** June 19, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** A fantastic look at what one of our [conservation partners](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/), [Manta Trust](https://www.facebook.com/MantaTrust?__cft__%5B0%5D=AZUMJJy0wkGfnmxvUB6FCOCEtgydHlB7x_KOpPgZg6Dqgn6gyee-pWyBANsiMDKzKIk8F5bERv4We1Fnk3roKu2zwx_4obYvCSgtKB3O-67Kis6GvCyPZ8kwKMPFcM8ijIuIDDRpnD2FL5geRF5HT42-TQpAKvQblZdP-voUQWxdl9UO_GGwZ_7Y9eMqsJtnrbPwWyGKTrYrP551BYDIXnox&__tn__=-%5DK-R), is working on here in Indonesia with great results so far. Mobula rays are a genus of species that includes manta rays and devil rays. We are lucky to have such an abundance of them in Indonesia, not to mention the world’s largest manta sanctuary in Raja Ampat, but it doesn’t mean everything is hunkydory. Mobulas of all species are threatened with extinction as a result of bycatch and the fact that they are still hunted for their gill rakers which are used in Chinese medicine. ![Snorkeler with manta rays | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/P1122563-scaled.jpg) Manta Trust is one of the leaders in the field of manta conservation and their global campaigns have been very successful at curbing activities like illegal manta fishing and shining a spotlight to this important species. We are extremely pleased to be able to assist them in their mighty manta mission with our [Every Trip Program](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/). ![Aerial perspective with Manta Ray and tropical island | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/DJI_0118.jpg) We try to help in every way possible when it comes to preserving the ocean and its inhabitants. However, since we are travel specialists and not marine biologists, the best thing we can do is support those who are experts in this field. With our [Every Trip campaign](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/), $100 from each booking made through us goes to one of our conservation partners, like [Mata Trust](https://www.mantatrust.org/). **Categories:** Conservation, Marine Life **Tags:** asia, indonesia snorkeling, Komodo, reef, snorkel, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling komodo --- ### [Featured House Reef: Alami Alor | Indonesia](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/06/02/featured-house-reef-alami-alor-indonesia/) **Published:** June 2, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** [Alami Alor](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/08/alor-snorkeling-guide/) has a very unique and beautiful house reef that runs the entire length of the resort and a bit beyond. While the reef is right in front of the bungalows, you can not access it from your rooms as the entire shoreline is made up of large lava rocks, not to mention as soon as you get to the waterline the reef begins, so there’s not real area to safely enter the water. Instead, the reef is accessible from Alami Alor’s private pier which is right in front of the dive center where all your snorkeling gear is stored. You can either jump in from the pier, do a seated entry, or climb down the wooden ladder at one end of the floating platform. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Alami-House-Reef.jpg) There is rarely a current on the house reef as the resort is situated on the side of a bay where the current doesn’t affect, at least not in a significant way. On stronger tides there can be a bit of a current, but it’s never really something we need to be concerned about as you can almost always swim against it. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1700010.jpg) The house reef starts with a shallow plateau that runs the entire length of the resort’s property and beyond. At very low tides this plateau can be inaccessible to snorkelers as it can only be a few centimeters deep, however, at medium to high tides you can access the whole thing. As you swim further away from the bungalows the plateau turns into a gentle slope which again runs the entire length of the reef. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_0169.jpg) A standard house reef snorkel route would be to jump in at the pier and then swim with the bungalows on your left. As you pass the last bungalow you’ll start to notice that the reef turns into more of a black sand slope. This is a good turnaround point. As you arrive at the pier it’s always nice to explore the area directly around it as a lot of life collects around the pilings and hides under the floating platform. If you want to keep snorkleing, I’d suggest continuing on past the pier—resort on your right–for another twenty meters or so, before turning back to exit on the wooden ladder. At an average pace, this loop could take an hour or so. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1699797.jpg) Alami Alor’s house reef is made up of a combination of hard and soft corals which start nearly at the waterline. The plateau and the shallow side of the slope are more coral-dense with the coral gradually tapering off into a mixture of coral heads and black volcanic sand towards the deeper end. You’ll no doubt see a bunch of different crinoids/feather stars, as well as anemones, table corals, sea stars, and barrel sponges, among a whole host of other colorful corals. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1699387.jpg) The reef is home to a ton of different critters and vibrant reef fish big and small. Directly under the jetty you’ll no doubt see the school of juvenile & adolescent batfish—not to be confused with angelfish—who love to hide under the floating platform. This is also a great place to look for the school or diamond spadefish, and if you’re in Alor towards the beginning of the Alor snorkeling season you can be overwhelmed by a school of anchovy-like fish who are constantly stalked by large bluefin trevally as well as the juvenile blacktip reef sharks who patrol in the very shallow water. The house reef is a nursery for reef fish, particularly up in the shallows, so you can expect to come across juvenile sweetlips, juvenile barramundi cod, juvenile angel fish, and a bunch of other ones. Anemones and their resident fish are scattered all over the reef as well, as are a ton of cool critters like peacock mantis shrimp, nudibranchs, moray eels, pipefish, scorpionfish, cuttlefish, octopus, and at sunset you can even find Mandarin fish! **Categories:** Destinations, House Reefs **Tags:** Alami Alor Resort, Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, snorkeling, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation --- ### [The Beauty of Arriving Early](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/06/15/the-beauty-of-arriving-early/) **Published:** June 15, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** There is nothing worse than having your dream snorkeling holiday—which you’ve booked a year or more in advance and invested a considerable amount of money on—compromised by unplanned events like flights being delayed, luggage being lost, or even the onset of a minor cold. Not only that, but places like [Indonesia](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/indonesia/), [Palau](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/22/palau-snorkel-guide/), and [Egypt ](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/egypt/)are not exactly close to The States, Europe, or Australia. After traveling for the better part of two days to arrive at the meeting point for the snorkeling safari, which will likely be anywhere from six to sixteen timezones different from where you started—having only received glimpses of sleep—all you are going to want for the next twenty-four hours is a quiet room with a large horizontal mattress and a hot shower for a complete mental and physical recovery. It is for these reasons and many more that the whole Snorkel Venture team and I recommend arriving to the meeting point at least a full day early. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/P1566154.jpg) **Delayed or Canceled Flights** If you’ve ever traveled by plane, you are no doubt aware that flights will on occasion be delayed for a number of reasons, or, in the more unlikely occurrence, canceled outright. Flying from or through places like Chicago, Denver, New York, or Florida where winter storms and hurricanes are a regular occurrence and notorious for shutting down entire airports, you are putting a lot of faith in the airlines being able to operate in a regular capacity. One delayed or canceled flight could mean you don’t arrive to the group meeting meeting point on time which could likely involve in a pretty major logistical headache. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/211227182241-01-flight-canceled-delayed-scaled.jpg) **Exhaustion & Colds** Unless you’re traveling in business class, it’s borderline impossible to get a solid snooze in on planes. Again, places like Indonesia, Egypt, Palau, and the Solomon Islands involve a significant amount of flying, and while I totally understand the pre-trip mindset of “I’ll just rally with a cup of coffee once I arrive,” having met several hundred snorkeling guests upon arrival from their 18-24 hours of travel, the reality of that much travel on only a few minutes of sleep is very different. Once that level of exhaustion sets it, no amount of adrenaline or caffeine can get you in the mood for snorkeling. The only remedy is a solid night’s sleep. Another thing to note about that much time spent in an airborne tube with recycled air and crowded airports, regardless of what class you’re traveling in, is colds. The sniffles do seem to spread pretty quick in these environments, but can be quickly snuffed out with a proper nights sleep and a meal not served out of a flimsy aluminum dish. If you keep pushing your body through more travel once you arrive at the meeting point, and then throw in three to four snorkels upon arrival at our snorkeling destination, your body is just going to take longer to recover. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/sleep-long-flights-like-pro-with-these-13-must-know-tips.1280x600.jpg) **Lost Luggage** The occurrence of luggage not turning up upon arrival is seldom, however, it does happen every so often. When this does happen we can almost always get it within a day or two in the case of our resort-based snorkeling safaris. You will, however, have to go without whatever was in that missing bag for that time, which could be annoying. In the case of our liveaboard snorkeling safaris, having your luggage delivered to a boat moving around remote islands is a near impossibility. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/TAL-jfk-baggage-claim-BAGTIPS0823-0753000f36d341238d9350e10f69c628.jpg) Right, so after going back through all of this I’m aware that it reads more like “Three Reasons Why You Should Never Fly”. Please don’t take it like that. Air travel is very reliable these days, and if any mishaps like delayed flights or lost luggage should occur, they can usually be remedied within 12-24 hours. What I’m trying to say is that by arriving at least a day early to the meeting point, you are giving yourself a window to work out any of these unlikely mishaps, a chance to collect yourself after a long flight or flights, and to ensure that you get to wear a clean pair of underpants each day. Given that most of our snorkeling guests are retired, the addition of one extra day on top of a two to three-week snorkeling trip is really going to mean very little in terms of time spent away from home but could mean a world of difference in terms of how much you’re able to relax and enjoy every aspect of the snorkeling safari to the max. ![guests on a liveaboard cheers cocktails | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/Alcohol-scaled.jpg) **Categories:** On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, reef, snorkel, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation --- ### [When to Use Macro in Snorkeling Photography](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/31/when-to-use-macro-in-snorkeling-photography/) **Published:** May 31, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Cameras like the [Olympus TG Series](https://snorkelventure.com/2022/04/29/comparison-gopro-smartphone-olympus-tg-6/) are fantastic options for snorkeling enthusiasts. They are compact, affordable, and come loaded with many [easy-to-use functions](https://snorkelventure.com/2022/04/05/best-underwater-settings-for-the-olympus-tg-6/) that let us snorkelers capture the beauty of the underwater world in all of its colorful glory. One of those settings is the macro function. If used correctly, the macro function on our TG cameras can capture sharp and colorful images of tiny subjects like nudibranchs and Christmas tree worms, subjects that would otherwise be too small to photograph with a normal camera lens. However, when the macro function is misused it can only cause frustration as your images will likely appear blurry. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1299748.jpg) Before I get into how to use the macro mode correctly, let’s talk quickly about what macro is in relation to photography, as I believe there’s a bit of a misunderstanding. In photography, the word macro only relates to the lens being used, in this case, a macro lens. In the world of interchangeable lenses, you can have two lenses with the same focal length, 100mm let’s say, but one can be a telephoto lens while the other can be a macro lens. They have the same focal length but are used for different purposes. The difference between a macro lens and your normal zoom or prime lens is that a macro lens allows you to get very close to your subject while still maintaining a sharp focus. If I was to take a 100mm telephoto lens and try to photograph a ladybug in my backyard from six inches away to so, the camera would not be able to focus on the ladybug. If I took the 100mm macro lens I could get as close as 4-6 inches from the subject while still getting a nice sharp focus on the ladybugs. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P3072286.jpg) Basically, when we switch our cameras into the macro mode it just means that our camera lens is now calibrated to photograph things that are much closer to it. The macro mode on any camera should only be used when we are photographing subjects that are very close to us. Macro mode has nothing to do with the actual subject you are photographing. Many people seem to think that just because they are photographing “macro subjects”, like nudibranchs, tunicates, or small reef fish, they need to switch their camera into macro mode even though they are photographing these “macro subjects” from a meter away. If you can’t physically get within several inches of your intended subject, you shouldn’t be using the macro mode, regardless of what it is you are photographing. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/nudi-macro-example.jpg) **A Few Quick Macro Tips** - First, get as close as possible. - Turn your flash on and set it to “Fill Flash”. If you are within 6 inches of your subject your last can illuminate whatever it is you’re photographing while also helping make the image sharper. - Shoot laterally as opposed to straight down on your subject. This will help separate your subject from the ‘clutter’ of the reef while also providing depth to the image. - [Look for abstract](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/21/olympus-tg-photo-tip-go-abstract/) details and textures. In many cases, the best images are not of specific fish, but of the [abstract details of the corals](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/21/olympus-tg-photo-tip-go-abstract/). ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P3111724.jpg)Taken with an Olympus TG-6 **Categories:** Photography, Tips & Advice **Tags:** how to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, macro, Nudibranch, Olympus, Olympus TG-6, reef, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, snorkeling tips, TG Camera, Tough Camera, underwater photography --- ### [Snorkeling in the Rain](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/26/snorkeling-in-the-rain/) **Published:** May 26, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** All of our snorkeling safaris take place in the topics and one of the characteristics of tropical climates is rain. Although we typically run our tours in the “Dry Season” for each destination, it is not uncommon for it to rain at least once while on any of our tours. I take that back, if you are on an [Egypt](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-snorkeling-safari-2025/) snorkeling safari there’s about a 1,00% chance that it won’t rain. When it does eventually start to rain on our tour the first question I invariably receive from guests is, “Can we still snorkel in the rain?” ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1004371.jpg) To which I respond, “Yes, absolutely, but we need to keep a couple of things in mind.” The first thing to keep in mind while snorkeling in the rain is your snorkel. Obviously, we don’t want it filling up with rainwater, so the best thing to do while you’re snorkeling is to take one of your hands and hold it over the top of your snorkel so it makes a nice air-tight seal. We don’t want any water getting in! I am of course JOKING! Now that I have your attention. Let’s talk about this seriously. While we do hope to be snorkeling in nice sunny weather, as we discussed earlier rain happens in the tropics and we just have to roll with it the best we can. Now, unless it’s very windy, stormy, and just otherwise unpleasant, which is not a very common occurrence on our safaris, we may postpone the snorkel until conditions have improved. However, if it’s just a quick tropical afternoon shower we almost always carry on with the snorkeling as planned. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1004363-12.19.09 PM.jpg) Snorkeling in the rain can be great! Yes, it may seem unpleasant at first as rain typically involves clouds that block most of the sunlight, but once you’re in the water it’s great. The water usually feels much warmer than the dreary terrestrial temperatures and somehow it also can seem brighter underwater despite the cloud cover. Fish don’t care if it’s raining so there’s no real change in the marine life, and I can tell you right now that I would much rather be in the water snorkeling with the fishes than cooped up on a boat or in a bungalow in the rain. For those of you who are keen photographers, the rain hitting the water makes a magical and very unique pattern on the surface which can really spice up your underwater imagery! **Categories:** Marine Life, Photography, Tips & Advice **Tags:** Alami Alor Resort, Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, reef, snorkel, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography --- ### [The Beauty of Repeating Destinations](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/24/the-beauty-of-repeating-destinations/) **Published:** May 24, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** No matter how many fantastic snorkeling destinations there are in the world, the number is still finite. This number gets even more finite when you factor in destinations that have enough great snorkeling sites to accommodate anywhere from a week to two weeks of snorkeling two to three snorkels a day without having to repeat sites. It gets smaller still when you take into account the resorts and liveaboards in the area. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/Moro_Lain_1135.jpg) Do the operators have comfortable accommodations with AC, WIFI, and professional guides? Are distances to snorkeling sites reasonable, and are they able to accommodate most dietary requirements? I know many of you want to go to entirely new destinations each time you set out on a new snorkeling adventure, and for many of you who take one or two snorkeling tours each year, we can easily accommodate that. However, for those of you who are taking three or more snorkeling adventures with us each year and have visited places like [Alor](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-forgotten-islands/), [Komodo](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/komodo-to-misool-snorkel-safari/), [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-safari-2025/), and even [Palau](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/22/palau-snorkel-guide/) where the bar is set quite high, our job as liaisons to the snorkeling world becomes a little bit more tedious. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/P1555096-scaled.jpg) It is for this specific reason that it is my opinion, which I will hopefully impart onto a few of you diehard snorkelers who are close to exhausting our[ extensive inventory of snorkeling safaris](https://snorkelventure.com/), that revisiting snorkeling destinations is very much worth it! This is not just a cheeky ploy for us to re-sell you a tour to a destination you’ve already been to. Well, I suppose it is in a way, but there’s not “cheeky” involved. It’s just us genuinely trying to find you a snorkeling adventure that’s going to give you the experience you expect. Take a place like [Raja Ampat ](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/01/raja-ampat-snorkel-guide/)for example, the most biodiverse marine ecosystem in the world which occupies over 8,000 square kilometers and is made up of over 1,500 islands, cays, and shoals, and is host to over 600 species of hard corals and over 1,700 species of reef fish. Now factor in species like whales, whale sharks, dugongs, two different species of manta ray, turtles, dolphins, and a whole array of reef sharks. Even if you are on a month-long [liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) followed by back-to-back resort-based trips with one in the [north](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-north-to-south/) and one in the [south](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-north-to-south/), there is no possible way you could ever see or experience all of what Raja Ampat has to offer. You would still only be scratching the surface of Raja’s full potential. The same goes for places like Alor, Komodo, Palau, [Cuba](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cuba-safari/), [Egypt](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-snorkeling-safari-2025/), or just about anywhere else in [Indonesia](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/indonesia/)! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1300866.jpg) If it helps, think of it like your local ski hill. If you’re really into the sport you would never just visit a hill once. Diehard skiers will be revisiting the hill several times a year, if not on most weekends, and no two days will ever be the same. Elements like the weather change, the snow changes, or maybe you’ll discover some new runs! Maybe you got a new pair of skies and would just love to try out that one double black diamond called “Mother Goose” on a nice “champagne powder” day with your new digs. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/quebec-ski-resorts-best-near-montreal-mont-tremblant-renault-philippe-getty-565b52195f9b5835e46cb8ce.jpg) The same principle goes for snorkeling destinations. Maybe your first visit to Misool was quite overcast and you’d like to see what the reefs look like on a clear blue day. Or maybe you didn’t have an underwater camera the first time you visited Palau and wished you could get photos of those Mandarin fish or mantas feeding. Or, just maybe, you were not in Alor you skipped the muck snorkel as you didn’t like the term “[muck](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/22/what-is-muck-snorkeling/)“, only to hear the thrilling feedback from the guests and now wish you could try again! There are roughly a zillion variables that come into play on a snorkeling trip, all of which completely change the overall experience. Sure, the physical location may be the same, but the overall experience will never be. It’s just not possible. ![red coral and snorkelers | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/P1255212.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations, On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, underwater photography --- ### [Olympus TG Photo Tip: Go Abstract](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/21/olympus-tg-photo-tip-go-abstract/) **Published:** May 21, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Choosing to photograph those small fast fast-moving [reef fish](https://snorkelventure.com/2019/10/18/snorkeling-and-photographing-reef-fish/) is arguably one of the hardest subjects you could choose underwater. Trust me, I know it’s tempting and borderline addicting, and please don’t hate me for saying this, but reef fish just aren’t the right subject in most cases. Hear me out, please. [Photographing reef fish](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/10/29/what-makes-a-great-reef-fish-photo/) from wavy surfaces as they erratically dart in and out of the reef beneath us is like trying to photograph rabbits from a turbulent helicopter. One in fifty photos might be in focus, sharp, with the subject facing the camera, and correctly composed without excessive cropping. If you want to consistently get great photos, and ones that aren’t cropped down by 50-75% ruining any chance for enlargements and framing, then reef fish really aren’t the right subject to be focusing on. If you only want to get ID photos to help you identify them later on, then go nuts. But if you want to take your underwater photography to a level that’s going to interest even your non-snorkeling friends beyond one or two photos, then the trick is to go abstract. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P3150129.jpg)Taken with an Olympus TG-6Going abstract with your snorkeling photos can be one of the easiest things you can do to help [elevate your images](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/10/12/what-is-wide-angle-underwater-photography-and-what-are-the-benefits/). It doesn’t take much more than training your eye to look for those unique details within the reefs and corals and then knowing how to execute the photo with your trusty camera, which I’m assuming is an Olympus TG camera in or out of a housing. Here are some simple steps you can follow to help get you those stunning shots that will make even your non-snorkeling friends’ jaws drop and begging for more. **Shallow Water** For best results, stay shallow. Look for subjects within arms reach. Even if you can dive down without too much difficulty, staying down and composing a shot with minimal movement can be a challenge. Every little movement can create motion blur and ruin a nice crisp image. As you get better at composing these types of images then start exploring a bit deeper with your camera. ![Two snorkelers photographing hard coral reef | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/P1199071.jpg) **The Right Subject** The right subject will be simple, beautiful, easily accessible, mostly stationary, and offer you as much time as you need with it. Basically corals. A few examples of subjects with great textures, colors, and patterns are sea anemones, giant clams, sea fans, sponges, tunicates, brain corals, and just about every other kind of coral out there. Even things like leaves or seed pods floating in the water can make a stunning shot. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/AlexJellyFishLakeFlowerhead-2.jpg)Taken with an Olympus TG-6**Fill the Frame..or Don’t** For some shots, I’d suggest filling the frame with only the details of the subject. For example, if you have a beautiful anemone up in the shallows, frame it so that just the tentacles fill the frame. Don’t worry about the shy fish, just go for the anemone itself. Or, focus on the intricate latticed structure that makes up a sea fan’s fan. If you can find a way to keep two-thirds of the detail in the shot and make the rest clear blue water, or angled up towards the water’s surface, try that as well. The big thing is to keep it simple and keep all the distracting elements, primarily the bits of rock or reef that surround the anemone or sea fan, out of the shot. [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P3140287-720x480.jpg) Taken with an Olympus TG-6 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P3140287.jpg "P3140287") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P3140243-720x480.jpg) Taken with an Olympus TG-6 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P3140243.jpg "P3140243") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P3111724-720x480.jpg) Taken with an Olympus TG-6 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P3111724.jpg "P3111724") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P3130070-720x480.jpg) Taken with an Olympus TG-6 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P3130070.jpg "P3130070") **The Right Settings** The settings are quite simple. Just use your standard [underwater modes](https://snorkelventure.com/2022/04/05/best-underwater-settings-for-the-olympus-tg-6/). Get as close as you can, anywhere from one foot to six inches is ideal, and then zoom in anywhere from 25-50% more to help fill the frame. Keep in mind that the more you zoom in the more camera shake you’ll have so you’ll need to hold the camera very steady. If you are within six to eight inches from the subject you can turn on the flash, that will help give you a nice crips image. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P3012129.jpg)Taken with an Olympus TG-6 **Categories:** Equipment, Photography, Tips & Advice **Tags:** asia, indonesia snorkeling, Olympus TG-6, olympus tough camera, snorkel raja ampat, snorkel safari, Snorkel vacation, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling vacation, underwater photo, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [First Impressions of Palau](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/05/15/first-impressions-of-palau/) **Published:** May 15, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Palau has long been on my bucket list of destinations to visit, in fact, Palau was the first place on my personal bucket list primarily because it was the world’s first shark sanctuary, and I’m a bit of a shark enthusiast. Over the years I learned more about Palau from friends who’ve been and it just kept sounding better and better. Not only are the reefs stunning, but it’s a great place to swim with mantas, turtles, and a ton of other bigger creatures like Napoleon wrasse. If you’re lucky you might even encounter a dugong swimming on the surface as you move from site to site with the boats. It’s also home to a jellyfish lake, which, depending on the year and the stage of the bloom, can host anywhere from a hundred to several million stingless jellyfish! Now, having just run my first Palau Snorkleing Safari this last April, I’m here to confirm the rumors are true, it does in fact rock! At the moment, we run our Palau Snorkeling Safari as both a resort-based tour and a liveaboard tour. As such, the first few days were spent staying at the fantastic Cove Resort which looks out onto the famous Rock Islands. Each day we would depart from the marina right in front of The Cove on our very own fully covered speedboat which would take us to our snorkeling sites, anywhere from twenty to forty minutes away. After two nice long morning snorkels punctuated by a lunch in a tranquil lagoon or white sand beach, we’d head back to the resort, arriving around three o’clock for some downtime and quite often a well-deserved cocktail before heading out for dinner together at one of the many great seaside restaurants nearby. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/covemarianview.jpg) Now, that was just the first three days of the trip. It was a perfect blend of spacious rooms, big beds, wi-fi, and lovely meals–not to mention all the fantastic reefs we’d explored and marine life we’d encountered each day. As we were all now multiple timezones away from home and many of us hadn’t donned a mask, snorkel, and fins in many months, these first few days really helped us acclimatize to the new day-to-day routine. By the time it was time to board the liveaboard, which picks us up right in front of The Cove Resort, we had all shaken off any residual jetlag and re-antiquated ourselves with our beloved snorkeling gear. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/thecovepool.jpg) The next week of the tour was spent the liveaboard, which we’d chartered exclusively for us. We had the full run of this really quite amazing boat—despite it’s rather unusual exterior. I’ll be the first to admit that the Palau Aggressor II looks very much like a toaster stacked on top of some pontoons, but this boxy design works really when it comes to conventional space onboard. I had many repeat guests on this tour who’d been on a number of the other Aggressor Liveaboard’s with us around the world, and we all agreed that this was easily one of the best laid-out boats we’d been on. ![group snorkeling tour, snorkel liveaboard | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_0794-Edit.jpg) The rooftop deck is all about lounging. Whether it be in hammocks, sun-loungers, or your more conventional table and chair affair, the top deck was the place to be if your post-snorkel break was to involve nothing more than a snooze, a book, or some good ol’ fashioned scenery watchin’. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1008381.jpg) The deck below is where the restaurant and entertainment center/lounge is located, and where we’d take all of our meals. The wraparound indoor-outdoor bar was where we’d enjoy our lunches and then the dining room tables are where breakfasts and dinners were served. The meals, I must say, were amazing. Each night would be a different theme, and no effort was too great for the chef as we had sushi, tacos, BBQ ribs, Indian curries, and the list goes on ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1008322.jpg) Even the cabins, which are usually quite “cozy” onboard most liveaboards, had a nice large bed as the bottom bunk and a single bed as the top bunk, with plenty of space in between. The vanity sink is right next to the bed there’s even a decent-sized closet with drawers below for all of your clothes. The ensuite bathroom was quite spacious as liveaboard bathrooms are concerned and fully equipped with hot water showers and a western flushing toilets. ![group snorkeling tour, snorkel liveaboard | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/cache_sch1312_cabin_01_w900.jpg) The main corridor where all the guest cabins are located leads to the back deck where we would gear up. Everyone has their own storage area beneath a flip-up seat and above each seat is a set of hangers for all your wet snorkeling apparel to dry. There’s even a large camera table with charging stations so you don’t need to clutter your room or the common areas with cables and cameras. ![group snorkeling tour, snorkel liveaboard, snorkel Palau | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_0722.jpg) The tender boat or skiff we use to access all the snorkeling sites from the main vessel is as good as it gets. First of all, it’s held about three meters off the water in a sort of hydraulic cradle off the back of the boat, which makes boarding it a cinch as it’s not in the water. Once everyone’s onboard the boat is then lowered into the water via some fancy hydraulic slidy-things, and then off we go! The tender boat is a very large 300-horsepower fiberglass boat with a full canopy, bench seating, and plenty of wet storage beneath the seat. In the back of the boat is a dry area where you can bring your small dry items in a bag if you need. The crew brings freshly baked snacks, fruits, water, and dry towels onboard. Yes, there is a ladder, and it has to be one of the best ladders I’ve ever seen for snorkeling as its lowest rung is more of a platform you can sit on if you like, and each rung above is topped with a nice wood plank making exiting the water after a snorkel a most pleasant experience!![group snorkel tour, snorkel liveaboard, snorkel Palau | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/Palau-Aggressor-II-Tender-Ladder.jpg) Alright, so the day-to-day ran a bit different onboard the liveaboard than it did from The Cove, obviously. Most mornings we’d wake up in a new location moored up in another absolutely gorgeous setting with one of the most unique islandscapes laid out before us and blacktip reef sharks circle behind the boat. After breakfast, we’d jump into the spacious tender and set off for our morning snorkel sessions. Sites were anywhere from 5-20 minutes away and we’d generally stay out for two sixty to ninety-minute snorkels, depending on the site. We’d then come back for an extravagant lunch, a bit of downtime, and then jump back in for another nice long afternoon snorkel. It’s an open bar onboard, one of the perks of running tours with Aggressor, so most evenings people would meet up on the top deck and enjoy a nice glass of wine or beer as we watched the sunset just before indulging in dinner. After dinner, many of us would find our way up to the top deck again as the stars in Palau were out of this world.![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_0801.jpg) Reefs and fish, I suspect you want to hear about them now. Basically, the shallow reefs in Palau are in outstanding shape and the diversity in types of snorkeling sites and the types of reefs are really very varied. On some snorkels, we would explore the interior reefs of the Rock Islands where the scenes underwater are not your typical tropical coral reef. On these reefs we found colonies of colorful hard corals mixed in with sponges, tunicates, and pretty algae patches. It’s in these interior reefs where we also found mandarin fish, quite a few of them actually, even in broad daylight. Guests like these areas so much we ended up repeating several sites. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/DJI_0774.jpg) As we moved to the outer reefs we a very different scenario. The corals and fish life on these outer reefs were more along the lines of what you might expect from a tropical coral reef. With the exception of one site, which for some reason hosted many sea fans and different types of soft corals, just about all the sites we explored were made up of vast colonies of hard corals. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1699239.jpg) Each site was very different than the next as some were set in white sand with stunning coral formations protruding from the powder-white substrate. Other sites were narrow channels with fringing reefs on both sides, while others were shallow coral plateaus that abruptly turned into walls. Regardless of where we were, the fish were in abundance. On the deeper channels and walls we encountered more of the bigger fish like jacks, snappers, and reef sharks congregating in the deeper sections. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/IMG_1714.jpg) Up in the shallows we found the schools of reef fish like pyramid butterflies, sweetlips, sea snakes, anemone fish, angel fish, and tons of parrot fish. We’d get a passing turtle or two on most of the sites, and on one site—German Channel— we got lucky with a passing manta. Mantas are one of the big things you can see in Palau, particularly around Germand Channel, and on a good day you can encounter anywhere from three to five feeding or cleaning mantas if not more, while on a slower day, you might get one passing by. It just all comes down to their behavior on that particular day. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1699149.jpg) Aside from the reefs, we also explored several quite unusual sites, one of which was the jellyfish lake, which was a truly unique experience and a highlight of the tour for everyone. Now, I had heard that the lake, which was once full of these golden stingless jellyfish—several million to be roughly exact—was pretty much devoid of them as they had all died off due to increasing water temps several years ago. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1688679.jpg) The crew said we might find 10-20 of the larger ones. However, once we jumped in and swam to the spot in the lake where they typically congregate, we were pleasantly surprised as we found anywhere from a few hundred up to a thousand or so jellies of all sizes. This rapid bloom in jellies, which had happened in just a few weeks, suggests that the jellies are reproducing well and with a bit of time the lake will be in full bloom again with millions of these harmless jellies blobbing along in it. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1688602.jpg) Right, so I think that just about does it. Being a new trip for me I was a bit hesitant about what I’d be encountering from a tour leaders perspective. How would the resort and liveaboard staff be with snorkelers? How would the food be? How would the reefs be? Would there be enough reefs for two weeks of snorkeling??? Dalton did prepare me very well with his helpful notes as he’s run the previous snorkel trips to Palau. It’s just not having experienced it first hand I still had all these hesitations and questions banging around in my head. Thankfully, after a few days working with each of the different crews and encountering what we’d encountered underwater and on land, I was able to rest a lot easier as everything and everyone was perfectly on point. Knowing what I know now, I am now thrilled to be leading the next Palau Snorkeling Safari in March 2025!![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1699225.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life, On Tour, Tips & Advice, Uncategorised **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, komodo resort, Palau, reef, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, snorkeling vacation, women snorkeling --- ### [Where to Visit in Bali](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/03/29/where-to-visit-in-bali/) **Published:** March 29, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** If you’re planning on joining one of our[ Indonesia snorkeling safaris](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/indonesia/) you will likely want to consider a stop in [Bali](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/10/29/bali-by-land/). Many of our Indonesian snorkeling tours will start and or stop in Bali, so, as an addition to your tour with us, it’s never a bad idea to tack on a few extra days to recover from the jet lag or enjoy some of the culture, sites, food, and luxurious resorts and villas that Bali is well known for. Now, if you are doing a bit of searching around on the interweb for where to go and what to see, you’ll no doubt see some locations and activities that are constantly mentioned. For example, “Sunset Excursions with Dolphins in Lovina”, “Escape the Crowds in Ubud”, or “Enjoy a romantic weekend in Kuta”. Unfortunately, algorithms and keywords control most of what we see online anymore so it’s really difficult to know how honest and reliable your search results are when you search fo the “Best places to go in Bali.” Some of the reviews and articles you’ll find will be great, but others might be a bit misleading and assembled solely to drive online traffic. You may be asking yourself, well, how do we know this blog is going to be any different? Well, I’ve lived and worked in Bali since 2013 and I’ve assembled this blog with the sole intent of offering honest advice about where to go and what to see in Bali for someone who’s of a retirement age and looking for a well-rounded trip through Bali. Also, as a Snorkel Venture trip leader who will no doubt meet some of you on tour at some point, I really want to make sure I give the most honest description of each place so I don’t have to bear the wrath of your furry because you’ve been told that “Kuta is a quiet and relaxing place that’s great for a romantic getaway” only to find out it’s a party town for young Australians. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Bali-Map.jpg) | **A. Denpasar/Bali Airport (DPS)****D. Uluwatu** **G. Ubud** **J. Amed** **M. Kintamani & Batur Voclano** **P. Menjangan** | **B. Kuta & Kuta Beach****E. Nusa Dua** **H. Sidemen** **K. Tulamben** **N. Munduk** **Q. Tana Lot** | **C. Seminyak****F. Sanur** **I. Padangbai** **L. Agung Volcano** **O. Lovina** | |---|---|---| --- *Traffic in Bali* Traffic is something you should expect to encounter in Bali, especially around the tourist areas. Outside of these areas here is very little traffic, but it does tend to bottleneck around Kuta, Seminyak, Uluwatu, and Ubud. The driving style might also seem a bit crazy at first with the scooter swerving all over the place and your driver driving down the center line, but I promise you there is a method to this madness. Something else to note is that every now and then there will be a ceremony that involves hundreds of people marching down the street which will inevitably impact traffic. It’s just all part of the culture and adventure! You’ll have a private quiet air-conditioned car so all you need to do is look out the window and just take in the scenery. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Copy-of-Bali_LIN_6929.jpg) *Beaches in Bali:* There are some very beautiful beaches in Bali, especially around Uluwatu and Nusa Dua. There are a few white sand beaches, there are also some black sand beaches, and some that are mostly made of smooth lava rocks. Most of the beaches you’ll see in Bali though will have the really beautiful local-style outrigger boats parked right on the shoreline, especially around Sanur and Amed/Tulamben. You can swim from most of them, but just be aware that the bottom is typically sea grass or rock. Please don’t expect the pristine white sand that stretches for miles and miles with nice sandy entrances to the water, it’s a very different kind of beach here. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/MG_6343.jpg) *Snorkeling in Bali:* Despite being in the middle of the coral triangle, Bali is not a great snorkeling destination. It does have some snorkeling around Amed, Tulamben, and Menjangan, but it’s not like anything you’d expect to encounter on any of our Indonesian snorkeling adventures. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/P1288522.jpg) *Day Tours:* Day tours are a great thing to do when you are in Bali and they can be organized with just a day’s notice. They typically involve 2-4 different stops depending on how long you want them to be and can be tailor-made. There are a lot of different options for day trips depending on where you’re staying, so the best thing to do is get in touch with us to help figure out what the best option for you is. --- **Denpasar Airport** The Bali/Denpasar Airport is a great big new building that is quite well organized. If you are landing at the same time as a few other flights Immigration queues can be a bit long at times, but there’s free wi-fi in the terminal so it’s not too bad. There is a great airport hotel called the Novotel, which we use a lot for all of our tours starting in Bali or transiting through Bali. ![Rooftop bar and restaurant at Novotel Bali Airport | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/ice-104958622-79271977_3XL-178791.jpg) **Kuta: 10-20 minutes from the Airport depending on traffic** Kuta is arguably the most popular place in Bali, however, it’s not a place I’d personally recommend visiting. Its beach is great, and perfect for those wanting to learn to surf, however, the Snorkel Venture demographic isn’t—so far as I’ve encountered—the “surfs up” type. It’s very popular with younger Australians who flock here for the same reasons Americans flock to Cabo San Lucas and Cancun…beach, beers, and babes. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/IMG_1985.jpg) **Seminyak: 20-30 Minutes from the airport depending on traffic** Seminyak is just north of Kuta and just the northern section of Kuta Beach really. It’s very much the same as Kuta only it attracts a bit more of a mature crowd who are again there to eat, drink, and party. The kids go and party in Kuta and the parents party in Seminyak, basically. **Uluwatu: 30-45 minutes from the airport depending on traffic and your hotel’s location** Uluwatu is basically that whole southern bit of Bali, but most of the hotels and things to do are on the west/southwest side. This is where the famous Uluwatu Temple is and where the kecak dance (pronounced kechack) takes place. Uluwatu has become very popular with the surfers, as well as the influencers. It’s quite trendy and definitely caters to that demographic. Uluwatu is still pretty cool though, the clifftops are stunning as are the beaches. The only thing about the beaches is that they are at the base of the cliffs which require several hundred or so steps down. There are some very nice hotels and villas overlooking the cliffs and ocean with fantastic views of the sunset. The restaurants in the area are pretty amazing also. Depending on where you’re staying it can be walkable, you should expect to take taxis or drivers to most places you intend on going. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Uluwatu-Clifftop.jpeg) **Nusa Dua: 30 minutes from the airport depending on traffic** Nusa Dua is where all the big hotels are. It’s very well made up and pretty with walking paths on and off the beach, but really doesn’t offer a whole lot in the way of local culture or an authentic Bali feel. Don’t get me wrong, the hotels are amazing as is the white sand beach that pretty much runs the entire coastline which does have a great promenade that runs most of the way, but the experience there is very much about the resort and the beach. This would be a good option if you just want a place to relax before or after a trip for a couple of days. In many ways, it’s the quintessential beach resort holiday location.![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Nusa-Dua.jpg) **Sanur: 30 minutes depending on traffic** Sanur is where I live which automatically makes it the best place in Bali! I kid, I kid. Sanur is a great place though and always one I recommend to guests. It’s not a big party spot and caters to people who still like to have a good time, but also want to be in bed by 10 pm. It’s where mature people come. It has a great beach that features a paved walking path that runs for miles in either direction. There are some fantastic hotels, from the big chains like the Hyatt to smaller boutique hotels that also run along the beach. If you want your own villa with a private pool you can also find that on Air BnB for a very reasonable price. Behind the hotels is the town of Sanur where there’s one main road with sidewalks on either side and is very walkable. Restaurants are plentiful and delicious. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Sanur-Beach.jpg) **Ubud: 1.5 hours from the airport depending on traffic** Ubud is right up there with Kuta as being one of the most popular places in Bali thanks to the book/movie Eat, Pray, Love. It’s the “spiritual capital” of Bali and famous for its rice terraces, monkey forests, yoga and meditation, Balinese art, and at one point was a quiet little village. Ever since that movie though Ubud just grown exponentially and now is a ‘bustling’ town. In the town itself, the traffic can be relentless as there are only two main streets, which are tiny, and one-way. It can take thirty minutes to go a couple of kilometers in high season. Outside of town, it’s much better and you’ll get to enjoy the lush greenery and beautiful views. I don’t want to not recommend Ubud, I just want to make sure expectations are managed. You can easily walk around the town, there are lots of cool shops and restaurants serving great food, and some amazing resorts and hotels, but it’s not the quaint little artsy village it once was. Thanks Julia Roberts! The monkey forest is in the center of town and definitely worth a visit, as are the Tegalalang rice fields 30 minutes outside of town. If you want to do cooking courses or visit some batik shops or studios this is a great place for that. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/P1322029.jpg) **Sidemen: 2 hours from the airport depending on traffic** Sidemen is one of my most favorite places in Bali. It’s a tiny little Balinese village set on these lush ridges with rice terraces and jungle on either side. Behind it is the mighty Agung volcano which towers over the town. It’s stunning. Fun fact, I got engaged here. There are only two boutique resorts here and a handful of villas for rent. If you want a quiet, authentic Bali vibe, this is the place to go. While there is not a ton of shopping or restaurants to choose from outside the resorts as it’s a real village and not one set up for large-scale tourism, there’s still a lot to do. For those who are keen for some physical activities, you can do a walking tour of the rice fields, climb the Batur Volcano for the sunrise, or go see some waterfalls. For those that just want something relaxing or cultural to do you can partake in a cooking course, enjoy hours of Balinese massages, or take a stroll through the village. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DJI_0915-Pano.jpg) **Padang Bai: 1.5 hours from the airport depending on traffic** Padang Bai is not worth visiting, basically. It’s a small town with a little beach where all the fast boats depart from for the Gili Islands. It’s just a port town and not particularly pleasant. The only reason I mention it is it does tend to be one of the places listed as a “Place to Visit” on some travel sites, for some reason. **Amed: 3 hours from the airport depending on traffic** Amed is a great little village, or series of villages set along the northeastern coastline of Bali. It’s one of the only places in Bali that you can actually snorkel. The snorkeling isn’t mind-blowing, but there are some spots that have nice coral reefs. Please note that the beaches are mostly made of larger lava rocks and it can be a bit tedious getting in and out of the water. The villages are nice though, small, authentic, and safe. There are plenty of nice places to stay, from boutique resorts to private villas to homestays. There are also some great restaurants in the area as well. You can find anything from authentic local food to really good Italian pizza and pasta. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DJI_0418.jpg) **Tulamben: 3.5 hours from the airport depending on traffic** Tulamben is just up the coast from Amed and basically the same. It’s popular for diving as the famous USAT Liberty Wreck is just off its shores. Snorkelers can enjoy the Liberty Wreck, but it can be a bit deep. The stern of the boat sits about fifteen feet deep, but the rest is around 30-60 feet deep. That being said, there are a few nice spots just down from the wreck which can be ok for snorkelers. Again, nothing like what we encounter on our tours, but if you just want to get wet and see some fish and corals this is also a good area. My suggestion would be to stay in Amed as the food and accommodation are better there and then do a day trip up to Tulamben if you are really keen to see the wreck. It’s only about 20 minutes or so up the road. **Agung Volcano** Agung Volcano is such a magical thing to have on this island. On a clear day you can see it from just about anywhere in Bali. You can climb it, but it’s an eight-hour hike one way. I’ve never done it, and will never do it because hiking is hard and I like to do things that are easier. If you are staying in Ubud, Sidemen, or in the Amed/Tulamben area you’ll have an amazing view of it around sunrise and sunset when the clouds are not around it. In the afternoon the clouds collect around its peak. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DJI_0892.jpg) **Kintamani & Batur Volcano: 2.5 hours from the airport depending on traffic** Kintamani is a little village on the crest of a giant crater, at its base is a beautiful lake, and from this lake sprouts the Batur Volcano. This is not a place I would recommend staying really, but it can be worth a visit as part of a day trip if you feel like making the trip up there from Ubud or Sidemen, for example. If you do end up staying here I would recommend a place that’s on the ridge and not down by the lake. The area around the lake can be full of flies at certain times of the year and is very unpleasant. If you are a fan of uphill hikes in the wee hours of the morning you can climb the volcano for a view of the sunrise from its peak. It takes anywhere from an hour or two hours depending on your hiking speed. For an able-bodied person in good shape it’s not particularly strenuous, but it is uphill on a rugged path. The view is stunning. I actually did this one! Batur hikes can be organized from Ubud, Sidemen, and Amed and will always include a guide. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/DJI_0059.jpg) **Munduk: 3 hours from the airport depending on traffic** This is a place I have yet to visit, but keep meaning to. Everything I’m about to say is from what I’ve gathered online and from what other people have told me who’ve been. I’ve had guests stay here and they loved it. From the sound of it, it’s a bit like Sidemen in that it’s a bit off the beaten track and surrounded by lush beauty. Some of the hotels in the area look stunning, offering panoramic views of the valley below. There are some big lakes in the area as well as waterfalls, and some iconic temples, one of which is the Ulun Danau Bratan temple (30 minutes from munduk) which is one of Bali’s most famous temples. I wouldn’t expect lots of shopping areas or dining excursions outside of the hotels. I believe Muduk is all about enjoying all the natural sites during the day and then relaxing in a comfortable boutique hotel in the afternoons and evenings. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Danau-Bratan-Temple.jpg) **Lovina: 3.5 hours from the airport depending on traffic** Lovina is still one of those places that always comes up in the “Top Ten Places to Visit,” but I’ve never had anyone say anything great about it. It’s far, there’s not a ton to do, and it’s far. The big thing they market with Lovina is the dolphin excursion at sunset, where tons of the local-style boats take guests eager to see a dolphin for the first time and then just chase them around until they bugger off. Basically, don’t go to Lovina. **Menjangan: 5 hours from the airport depending on traffic** This is another place I have yet to visit, but I have heard pretty good things about it. It is an area that does have snorkeling, but again, not anything like what we will experience on any of our Indonesian Snorkeling Safaris. It is far, so before going I would do some proper research into it. I’m not going to say too much about it for fear of misrepresenting the area. I do know there are some nice resorts with stunning views of the Merapi Volcano on Java, which is just across the channel. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Mengangan-temple.jpg) **Tana Lot: 2 hours from Sanur** Tana Lot is one of the most popular attractions in Bali. It is stunning, especially at sunset. It does get crowded, especially at sunset, but it’s a big area and there’s plenty of space to walk around and take in the sites. If you want to see it you’ll most likely end up doing it as part of a day tour which will stop at some of the other sites and attractions in Bali and this will be the final stop before the driver takes you home. You can make arrangements to see it from just about anywhere in Bali, and obviously, as you get further away from it the travel time to get there increases. I’d recommend doing it from either Sanur or Ubud. From Sanur, it’s about a two-hour drive, and from Ubud, it’s about one and a half hours. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/03/Tanah-Lot-Pano_1.jpg) **Categories:** Destinations, Snorkeling Guides **Tags:** asia, bali, Best places to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, women snorkeling --- ### [Featured House Reef: Marsa Nakari | Egypt](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/02/28/featured-house-reef-marsa-nakiri-egypt/) **Published:** February 28, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Next to [Marsa Shagra Resort’s](egyphttps://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/egypt/) house reef, Marsa Nakari Resort’s house reef is one of the biggest house reefs we visit on any of our [resort-based snorkeling safaris](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-resort-snorkeling-safari/). Similar to Marsa Shagra’s, Marsa Nakari’s reef starts just a few meters offshore where the northern and southern sections of the reef come together to make the point of a sort of V. While these two reefs may look very similar from an aerial perspective, they are quite different underwater. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Marsa-Nakiri-Map.jpg) This unique topographic feature offers lots of different opportunities to us snorkelers. You can enter from the beach by walking in, the bottom is a fine white sand so there’s no real need for booties, and then head north or south. Or, if you want to explore a bit further, you can jump on one of their available tender boats which you board from their offshore jetty that sits just at the water line and is accessed by a couple of wooden steps. Depending on what you want to do, the tender will take you around the northern or southern corner where you’ll drop in and then you can choose to swim back to shore, or have the tenders come and get you at a designated time. With all these options you can easily explore the house reef for many snorkels. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/DJI_0627.jpg) Marsa Nakari’s reef itself is great as the corals come right up to the surface, and depending on where you are, will either form more of a wall, a slope, or some very large coral heads that rise up from the sea flore fifteen meters below and come up to about three to five meters from the surface. In some sections of the reef you’ll find little alcoves that cut into the reef offering even more territory and interesting features to explore. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/P1533175.jpg) The visibility in [Egypt](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/11/29/egypt-snorkeling-guide/) is typically very good, especially on the sections of the reef further offshore. If the wind picks up the visibility can drop a bit as you get closer to shore given the fact that there is a lot more sediment and sand being moved around by the waves. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/P1555267-scaled.jpg) With regards to[ marine life](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/11/29/egypt-snorkeling-guide/), there is a ton to see here, from big to small. The more likely subjects include schools of orange anthias, unicorn fish, goatfish, and many different species of butterfly fish. You are also very likely to encounter moray eels, blue-spotted stingrays, scorpionfish, lionfish, and turtles. One thing that’s really cool about this particular reef is the resident school of bigmouth mackerel who swim around in a large school hoovering up plankton with their massive mouths. Every so often a pod of dolphins enters the bay and will hang around for a bit. The cool thing about the dolphins here is that they are typically quite friendly and if you are lucky, they might even come to say “hello.” ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/striped-mackerel-with-mouths-wide-open-egypt-red-sea-alex-mustard-natureplcom-1.jpg) Currents are not typically very strong here, but if there ever was a stronger current you can either just drift with it by having a tender drop you on the up-current side of it and then just float with it back to the resort, or you can escape it entirely by spending your time in the V-shaped bay. **Categories:** Destinations, House Reefs, Marine Life **Tags:** best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, house reef, how to snorkel, reef, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, snorkeling vacation, underwater photography, women snorkeling --- ### [The Best Snorkeling Gloves & Hoodies](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/02/29/the-best-snorkeling-gloves-hoodies/) **Published:** February 29, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** As Snorkel Venture’s self-appointed Tsar of Sun Protection, I have to share with you my latest discovery. As you all know, as snorkelers, we spend a lot of time floating on the surface of the water with the intense equatorial sun beating down on our backsides. No matter how melanin-rich your body may be, those little exposed areas—ankles, calves, ears, necks, that little bald spot on the top of everyone’s head, and even hands—will eventually burn to a crisp and you’ll suffer with it for the rest of the tour. If you’ve read any of my [**blogs**](https://snorkelventure.com/blog/) on Snorkel Venture’s website or newsletters, I’m not a fan of repeatedly lathering up with sun-creams. Instead, I’m a staunch supporter of the[ **coverup method**](https://snorkelventure.com/2022/08/16/snorkelers-guide-to-sun-protection/), which brings me to my original point, fly-fishing gloves! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Flyfishing-gloves.jpg) Fly-fishing gloves are the perfect snorkeling glove as they are made out of thin UV-protective lycra, are easy to put on, have a fingerless design so we can maintain dexterity with our small camera buttons, and—best of all—there are a ton of really cool prints so we can remain our fashionable selves in the water! Unlike diving gloves which are usually made from cumbersome and delicate neoprene, only offer colors ranging from “Dark Black” to “Midnight Black”, not to mention being expensive, these fly-fishing gloves are lightweight, durable, highly fashionable, and significantly cheaper! I wish I could claim that I made this discovery on my own, but it was actually a couple of our repeater guests who turned me onto this brilliant hack! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Snorkeling-Gloves-scaled.jpg) Another garment that fishermen seem to have pioneered which also pairs well with the water & sun based activities us snorkelers tend to indulge in is this lightweight hoodie which comes with a built-in face screen to protect the lower half of your face from the sun, the same way a Buff or neck gaiter would. Again, they are built of a lightweight UV protective material and come in tons of stylish colors. I would not recommend these hoodies for in-water activities, however. While the hood may seem practical, the loose nature of it will likely just slip around on your head as soon as you don your mask. I would still recommend the options I discuss in [**this** **blog** ](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/26/snorkeling-with-hoods/)for all your in-water snorkeling gear. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/Fishing-Hoodies-1.jpg) **Categories:** Equipment, Tips & Advice **Tags:** asia, coral reef, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, women snorkeling --- ### [Featured House Reef : Papua Explorers | Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/12/featured-house-reef-papua-explorers/) **Published:** January 12, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Papua Explorers, located in the northern region of [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/01/raja-ampat-snorkel-guide/) has a great house reef accessible by your water bungalow at high tide, or the long jetty at any point of the day, no matter the position of the tide. The end of the jetty is right where the reef slopes off into deeper water and offers two different entry and exit points. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Papex-House-Reef-scaled.jpg) Each of these entry points has a ladder made from wooden poles that lead up to the platform above. The space between rungs on the house reef ladders are slightly further apart than your standard ladder. Each ladder extends about three to four feet into the water. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Ladder-Jetty.jpg) The reef is very long and offers lots of space to explore. In the shallow plateau area, you’ll notice that the hard coral sort of fade out and you’ll find more seagrass, sponges, and anemones. This is also a great place to look for juvenile blue spot stingrays and other weird benthic bottom dwellers like moray eels and scorpion fish. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/P1166142-scaled.jpg) As you move back towards the reef slope the coral picks up again and this is where you’re likely to find more of your reef dwellers, like crocodile fish, groups of soldierfish, more anemones, medium-sized giant clams, sea turtles, and even the odd wobbegong if you are lucky. Underneath the jetty is where all schools of fish collect, and pretty much live year-round. Around these pilings you’ll find large schools of batfish, jacks, diamond spade fish, sweet lips, and many lionfish. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1588741-scaled.jpg) On night snorkels there are very good chances of encountering walking sharks, moray eels, nudibranchs, basket stars, octopus, cuttlefish, and so much more! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DJI_0221-scaled.jpg) While most of the time the currents are quite mild on the house reef, there can be times when the current can be a bit on the strong side, particularly on the reef slope. If we feel that the current is ever too strong we may ask you to hold off on a house reef snorkel as it can be a safety issue. This only happens for a few days around the full or new moon. **Categories:** Destinations, House Reefs, Marine Life **Tags:** best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, indonesia snorkeling, reef, snorkel, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Featured House Reef: Marsa Shagra | Egypt](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/16/featured-house-reef-marsa-shagra-egypt/) **Published:** January 16, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** [Marsa Shagra Resort’s](egyphttps://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/egypt/) house reef is arguably one of the biggest house reefs we visit on any of our [resort-based snorkeling safaris](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-resort-snorkeling-safari/). It starts just a few meters offshore where the northern and southern sections of the reef come together to make the point of a sort of V. [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Marsa-Shagra-Map-1-scaled-720x480.jpg) Marsa Shagra Map 1 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Marsa-Shagra-Map-1-scaled.jpg "Marsa Shagra Map 1") [ ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Marsa-Shagra-Map-2-scaled-720x480.jpg) Marsa Shagra Map 2 ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Marsa-Shagra-Map-2-scaled.jpg "Marsa Shagra Map 2") This unique topographic feature offers lots of different opportunities to us snorkelers. You can enter from the beach by walking in, the bottom is a fine white sand so there’s no real need for booties, and then head north or south. Or, if you want to explore a bit further, you can jump on one of their available tender boats which you board from their offshore jetty that sits just at the water line and is accessed by a couple of wooden steps. ![Marsa Shagra boats | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/maxresdefault.jpg) Depending on what you want to do, the tender will take you around the northern or southern corner where you’ll drop in and then you can choose to swim back to shore, or have the tenders come and get you at a designated time. With all these options you can easily explore the house reef for many snorkels. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/P1522730-scaled.jpg) The reef itself is great as the corals come right up to the surface, and depending on where you are, will either form more of a wall, or a slope. In some sections of the reef, you’ll find little alcoves, small pinnacles, and cuts in the reef offering even more territory and interesting features to explore. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/P1555214-1-scaled.jpg) The visibility in [Egypt](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/11/29/egypt-snorkeling-guide/) is typically very good, especially on the sections further offshore. If the wind picks up the visibility can drop a bit as you get closer to shore given the fact that there is a lot more sediment and sand being moved around by the waves. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/P1555770-scaled.jpg) With regards to[ marine life](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/11/29/egypt-snorkeling-guide/), there is a ton to see here, from big to small. The more likely subjects include schools of orange anthias, unicorn fish, barracuda, goatfish, and many different species of butterfly fish. You are also very likely to encounter moray eels, blue-spotted stingrays, scorpionfish, lionfish, and turtles. Every so often a pod of dolphins enters the bay and will hang around for a bit. The cool thing about the dolphins here is that they are typically quite friendly and if you are lucky, they might even come to say “hello.” Currents are not typically very strong here, but if there ever was a stronger current you can either just drift with it by having a tender drop you on the up-current side of it and then just float with it back to the resort, or you can escape it entirely by spending your time in the V-shaped bay. **Categories:** Destinations, House Reefs, Marine Life **Tags:** best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation --- ### [Featured House Reef: Kusu Island Resort | Halmahera](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/31/featured-house-reef-kusu-island-resort-halmahera/) **Published:** January 31, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** [Kusu Island Resort](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/halmahera-snorkeling-tour/) is located on Kusu, a small island in the south of [Halmahera Indonesia](https://snorkelventure.com/2022/02/14/halmahera-snorkel-guide/). The resort is located on the southern side of the island, and the house reef sprawls out in front of the resort. At high tides you can access the reef from your villa if you are on the mangrove side, if you are on the beach side you can access the reef from the beach in front of your villa. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/KUSU-REEF-MAP.jpg) The best and easiest place to access the house reef, at any point of the day, is from the jetty that extends out to where the reef drops off and you can enter and exit via the wooden steps that lead right into the water. The ladder is made of nice wooden planks and spaces between steps are comfortable for most able-bodied people. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/Kusu-Jetty-Ladder.jpg) [Kusu Island Resort’s](https://snorkelventure.com/2022/01/25/halmaheras-kusu-island-resort/) house reef is fantastic, it’s huge as it pretty much wraps itself all the way around the island. It has some really fantastic shallow hard coral gardens that start about twenty meters off of the beach or mangroves and can be explored at high tides. ![House reef at Kusu island resort | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/P1088269.jpg) At lower tides you won’t be able to access the plateau, instead, you can explore the reef slope which is also great as you have the hard coral reef on one side and the blue water on your other. Where there’s hard coal reef you are likely to encounter many schools of anthias and chromies as well as many other types of reef fish like anemone fish, crocodile fish, lots of fusileers in the blue, lionfish, and quite a few blacktip reef sharks. On a night snorkel, there are good chances of finding walking sharks, cuttlefish, and octopus on the hard coral areas. ![Snorkeler above coral reef in Kusu island resort | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/P1088233.jpg) The area directly in front of the beach or mangroves is mostly sandy patches with some interesting little colonies of corals and sponges. This is a great place for critters like octopus, scorpionfish, anemones, and even seahorses if you are lucky. On a high tide this area can be awesome for a night snorkel. ![walking shark in halmahera indonesai | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Walking-Shark_Halmahera-scaled.jpg) Currents can be strong on the house reef, particularly around the full or new moon. We treat this reef with quite a bit of caution in the stronger currents and we may even ask you not to snorkel it when the current is really moving as it can be a safety concern if you are snorkeling without boat support. Aside from the few days around full or new moon the currents tend to be mild and it can be easily and comfortably snorkeled. **Categories:** Destinations, House Reefs **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, halmahera, how to snorkel, indonesia holidays, indonesia snorkeling, kusu, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, women snorkeling --- ### [Snorkeling with Hoods](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/26/snorkeling-with-hoods/) **Published:** January 26, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** You might think you don’t need a hood for a snorkeling safari as the tropical waters are similar in temperature to bathwater. However, we would argue that you really do need a hood, and more than that, one that fits snugly on your head. It doesn’t matter if you have a nest of thick locks, or sport the more hydrodynamic look that so many men do right around their retirement, the three to four hours we spend each day face down in the water for weeks at a time is far more than enough time to absolutely deep-fry your ears, neck, and that little swirling cowlick everyone has right in the back of their head. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/IMG_0105-2-scaled.jpg) **Uncomfortable Hood & Cover-Up Options** Yes, you can cover your exposed areas with [sunscreen](https://snorkelventure.com/2022/08/16/snorkelers-guide-to-sun-protection/), however, lathering up the back of your sweaty neck, around your ears, and on top of the head with a thick dollop of sunscreen is put it mildly, annoying. Also, it just doesn’t work that well. On top of that, even the most modest application of sun cream will very likely cause your mask to fog up routinely on your snorkeling sessions as the inside of the lens will soon have a thin layer of it after your sun-creamy hands and face make contact with it. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/how-much-sunscreen-copy-scaled.jpg) [Buffs](https://snorkelventure.com/2022/08/16/snorkelers-guide-to-sun-protection/) are also an option, we love them for on the boats and treks as they do cover the top of the head and ears, or the neck and ears, but not head, neck, and ears all at the same time, at least not conveniently. The issue with buffs is that when you put one on your head and then go to put your mask on, the buff will—nine times out of ten—slip back as the mask strap pulls it back, completely exposing the majority of your scalp. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/1619d3e6-d7c9-c8f9-2e06-8cadfe9b252b.jpg) **Most Convenient Options** The most convenient options, in our experience, are any type of snug-fitting hood that does not only cover the top of your head and ears but also your neck. There are a number of great options, from hooded thermal vests from [Fourth Element](https://snorkelventure.com/2022/08/09/where-to-buy-your-snorkel-gear/), [neoprene wetsuits with hoods, and lycra rashguards with hoods](https://snorkelventure.com/2022/08/16/snorkelers-guide-to-sun-protection/). ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/da8fddfb-fc10-1918-f178-f77af02a0982.png) The first two options are the best, as these types of materials are a little bit sturdier and won’t move around on your head when you need to put your mask on or do any mask adjustments while in the water. The lycra hoods tend to fit a lot more loosely and will have a tendency to slip around as you put your mask on or make any adjustments. ![Snorkeler Surrounded by Manta Rays | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Snorker-Manta-Edit.jpg) **Categories:** Equipment, On Tour, Tips & Advice **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, how to snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, women snorkeling --- ### [Five Reasons why You Should be Excited to Snorkel Palau](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/26/five-reasons-why-you-should-be-excited-to-snorkel-palau/) **Published:** January 26, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** When I first ventured out in pursuit of a career in underwater film and photography, [**Palau**](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-snorkeling-safari/) was the one place I had my sights set on. However, in the fifteen years I’ve worked as an underwater photographer/videographer, having visited some of the world’s best locations for capturing the unique and awe-inspiring beauty of the underwater world, Palau has somehow always evaded me. Now, in April of this year, I finally get the opportunity to visit this fabled island nation as I lead a group of snorkelers. After years of drooling over photos of Palau and listening to stories of people’s underwater encounters, here are the top five reasons why I’m most excited to lead a Snorkel Venture tour to Palau. **The Rock Islands** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/dbfee9c1-7946-5a92-ea80-2c855e6125dc.jpg) If you type “Palau” into Google, stunning aerial photographs of emerald green islands set amongst turquoise waters will no doubt be the first things you see. These are the famous Rock Islands of Palau. I’ve spent a great deal of time around the karst Islands of Raja Ampat, which are of the same geological makeup, however, I’m really keen to explore the subtle differences of Palau’s Rock Islands and photograph them as we all enjoy a tour of this magical islandscape. **Big Fish** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/ee44dc77-3061-2ead-45d8-49b02e0277dc.jpg) One of the things Palau is well known for is its abundance of big fish. It doesn’t matter how many times you see schools of bumphead parrot fish, Napoleon wrasses, or swirling masses of fish like jacks or snapper, it just gets the heart going faster! **Worlds First Shark Sanctuary** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/d42fa168-0129-45b4-0ae5-8d9111b2e89b.jpg) Palau is the world’s first shark sanctuary, which means every species of shark inhabiting the area is protected from fishing, which, if you have not heard, is having a devastating effect on shark populations worldwide. However, thanks to Palau’s protective measures, shark populations are thriving, and as a result, we can expect to encounter reef sharks like black tip and white tip reef sharks, and with a bit of luck some grey reef sharks as well. **Screensaver Worthy Reefs** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/0278c78e-d0fa-1972-5e33-df9e9cdff098.jpg) Among all the amazing free-swimming creatures we will likely encounter, like sharks, schools of reef fish, and even manta rays, I am very keen to explore the vast coral reefs that Palau is known for. I loooove all the swimming types of marine life—things with fins, gills, and eyes—but one of my all-time favorite things about snorkeling is gliding over vast fields of coral. Palau’s reefs are so beautiful, that Apple (that modestly sized startup computer & phone manufacturer) sent a cameraman to film them so the images could be used as one of their new screensavers, which you can now access. **Jellyfish Lake** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/350bd0b8-b672-ead6-bcdc-ad73237e0848.jpg) If there’s one thing Palau is most famous for, outside of its reefs, islands, and fish life, is its jellyfish lake. Situated within one of the many islands of Palau is a body of water that has miraculously trapped a number of jellyfish. With no real predators in this small brackish lake, the trapped jellyfish began to reproduce in vast numbers, and, over however many millions of years have evolved to not have any stinging tentacles. So, as snorkelers, we can safely and comfortably swim amongst the millions and millions of jellyfish for a truly one-of-a-kind experience! Just like the reefs in Palau, you can now set your Apple computer’s desktop or screensaver to showcase the mesmerizing visuals of the jellyfish lake. **Categories:** Destinations, Marine Life **Tags:** asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, coral reef, how to snorkel, reef, snorkel, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation, women snorkeling --- ### [Pros and Cons of Liveaboards and Resorts](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/09/pros-and-cons-of-liveaboards-and-resorts/) **Published:** January 9, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** We get asked a lot, “Which is better, a [liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/02/16/everything-you-need-to-know-about-liveaboards/) or a resort for a snorkleing safari?” There’s no real right answer, both are fantastic ways to explore the many different destinations we snorkel, especially with the top-notch liveaboards and resorts we use. A lot of it comes down to your individual preferences, and what you want to get out of the trip. So, to help you get a better idea of what each is like, I’ve put together a Pros and Cons list for each. Side note, I spent quite a bit of time–twenty-seven minutes to be precise– trying to come up with a better word in place of “Cons”, as I believe it’s far too negative of a word for the items listed beneath it, however, my vocabulary is lacking at this point in time and I decided to move on. Apologies! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DJI_0423-copy-scaled.jpg) ## Resort Pros - **Spacious rooms** Most of the resorts we use will have airy rooms with large bathrooms, closet space, desks, seating areas, and verandas. - **Lots of space to walk around** Resorts typically have many different areas to explore on foot, some of which lead to secluded parts of the property where little beaches or viewpoints are accessible ![Papua Explorers resort | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/DJI_0044-scaled.jpg) - **The ground is stable, even in bad weather** For those of you prone to seasickness, this is a major bonus! - **More privacy and places to relax in solitude** If you like your personal space while not having to reside specifically in your room, resorts are great as many of the ones we use have little comfortable nooks and lounge areas where you can just relax in peace. - **You get to explore one snorkeling area in-depth** If you really want to explore one area, for example, [Misool](https://snorkelventure.com/2020/12/22/snorkelers-guide-to-misool-resort/) in the south of [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/01/raja-ampat-snorkel-guide/), Misool Resort would give you the best opportunity to explore that area from tip to toe. - **Better chances of Wi-Fi** Not all resorts, but most resorts will have better chances of getting reliable WiFi signal as they just have more infrastructure to do so. - **People who love to photograph birds and stars generally have plenty of opportunities** If you like to wander around in search of birds to add to your list of species you’ve encountered resorts are great as they typically have a healthy population on the properties. Not to mention, stable ground is a must-have for capturing crisp long exposure photos of the Milky Way! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/P1455525-copy.jpg) ## Resort Cons - **Less downtime throughout the day** Travel times from resorts to snorkeling sites vary depending on the location, but the average time can be anywhere from 15 minutes to an hour or more. This time adds up throughout the day, and as a result, it does cut into the available downtime. - **Distances from rooms to restaurants can be quite significant, depending on the resort** Depending on the resort, you can expect to walk anywhere from twenty meters to a couple hundred to get from your room to the restaurant, and the same on the way back. Also, many of the resorts have quite long jetties or piers which can again be up to a hundred meters long. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Alor-Komodo-scaled.jpg) - **For multi-stop resort safaris, there will be more travel logistics involved** If you’ve looked through our catalog of resort-based snorkeling safaris you’ll notice that most of them make stops in multiple destinations. This is awesome and allows you to explore new and exciting snorkeling destinations on one trip. That being said, getting to these different remote islands and reefs means a decent amount of flying, driving, and boat rides, not to mention several different sessions of packing and unpacking. - **You only get to explore the snorkel sites accessible by the resort’s boats** While you will explore the area accessible by boat from the resort in depth, which is great, it does mean that you will only be seeing a smaller section of that region. [Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/01/raja-ampat-snorkel-guide/) and the barrier reef in [Belize](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/07/29/belize-snorkeling-guide/), for example, are vast and it’s just not possible to be able to explore Raja from north to south, or all the different atolls in Belize from one resort. ![Snorkelers on Kusu Island Resort's snorkel boat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Kusu-Island-Resort-Dive-Boat.jpg) - **You are more constrained by time when it comes to choosing snorkeling sites** There are only so many hours in the day, especially when you factor in travel times to and from snorkeling sites, needing to be back at the resort for meal times, and the fact that in the tropics the sun sets around six thirty year-round. So, with that in mind, it doesn’t give us guides much wiggle room when it comes to snorkeling sites at the absolute best time for that specific site. We do our best, we will delay a little or go a bit early to give us the best possible conditions for that site, but we are at the mercy of available daylight hours, current sea and weather conditions, and transit times. - **If sea and weather conditions are unfavorable at that moment in time there’s not much you can do** We run our tours in the best parts of the season for any given destination, however, our tours take place in the tropics where weather and sea conditions can be unpredictable. Storms do happen from time to time, and visibility can be poor at times as well. Given the fact that we are based at a resort, we just have to deal with what we are given. Luckily we have spacious rooms that don’t rock! ## **Liveaboards Pros** - **You get to wake up in a new destination each day** On many of our liveaboard tours we travel through the night which means we get to wake up in a new destination each day. - **You can travel between sites as you relax on board or enjoy your meals** Instead of transiting between the different snorkeling sites in a smaller boat in your wet snorkeling gear, liveaboards provide you the luxury of doing so in dry clothes while enjoying a nice meal and a bit of a siesta. ![Mermaid II liveaboard in front of Islands | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/04/DJI_0995-1.jpg) - **More downtime between snorkels** On liveaboards, we typically access the snorkeling sites via tender boats or zodiac-style ribs from the main vessel. Transit times can be anywhere from two minutes to ten at the very most. All this time saved means more downtime throughout the day to relax or even the option of extending the snorkeling sessions. - **You have more opportunities to choose sites based on sea and weather conditions** We really want to snorkel each site in the best conditions for that specific site. Some sites need higher tides, like the mangroves in Raja Ampat for example, or, it could mean we need a falling tide instead of a rising. On liveaboards we have more available time in the day because our transit times to the snorkeling sites are much shorter, this means we can play with the time more and choose to snorkel each site with the best condition possible. - **Less walking** The length of the liveaboards we use are anywhere from thirty to forty-five meters in length and 8-12 meters in width. As you probably already guessed, there’s just less space to walk. There may be a few steps as the boats normally have several decks, though. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/02/Halmahera-LOB-Map-scaled.jpg) - **You can visit multiple destinations in one trip with less flying and packing/unpacking** Liveaboards are great in this respect as you can travel many hundreds of miles over the course of a snorkeling safari which allows you to explore not one, but several destinations without having to catch a single flight or pack and unpack your bag once you’ve boarded the vessel. - **You are more able to avoid unfavorable sea and weather conditions** Liveaboard’s talk amongst each other via radio to see how conditions are in the different regions, so, if we find out that it’s rainy in the south of Raja Ampat, or that the water is green in the eastern parts of Palau, we can then choose to spend our time in the areas where the sea and weather conditions are more favorable and then make our way to the other parts of that destination once the storm has passed and the ocean has blued up. ## **Liveaboard Cons** - **Boats move** It should come as no surprise that boats do have a tendency to rock or roll a bit. In most cases, it’s not too noticeable and after a couple of days you’ll naturally acclimatize yourself to this gentle motion. However, there are times when the boats can rock a bit more than you may find comfortable, especially during some of the open ocean crossings between islands. - **Boats can be a bit noisy** Engines, generators, and anchor wenches are an integral part of liveaboards and they do tend to create an ever-present humming sound onboard, or the occasional bang as the anchor is secured back into its pocket onboard. If you are on a wooden liveaboard then you’ll likely notice a gentle creaking sound as the boat moves in the water. It’s just all part of the “charm” of life on a boat. ![cabin on coralia liveaboard | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/Coralia-Liveaboard-Master-cabin-with-Papua-Explorers-Resort-copy.jpg) - **Less space** We do choose the most spacious boats in that particular area, but space on liveaboards is far more limited than at a resort. That being said, most of the boats we use have large rooms—by liveaboard standards—where you’ll have your own bathrooms, storage space, comfortable indoor and outdoor lounging areas, rooftop bars, and even Jacuzzi in a few cases. - **You don’t necessarily explore one particular area as in-depth as you would with a resort** The idea of a liveaboard is to allow you to explore an entire destination, from north to south and east to west. We typically spend anywhere from two to four days in each region before moving on the next. We don’t usually spend an entire liveaboard safari only exploring Turneffe Atoll in Belize, for example. In that particular scenario, we will spend a few days at Turneffe, of course, but we’ll also explore the atolls around like Glovers and Lighthouse Reef, and of course the Blue Hole. **Categories:** Destinations, Tips & Advice **Tags:** Alor and Komodo, asia, best place to snorkel, Best places to snorkel, indonesia snorkeling, Snorkel Indonesia, snorkel safari, Snorkel Venture, snorkeling indonesia, snorkeling tips, snorkeling vacation --- ## Pages ### [Homepage](https://snorkelventure.com/) **Published:** September 1, 2020 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** # **We’re a small team of avid snorkelers with a thirst for adventure. It’s time you joined us.** Our guided snorkeling tours will take you to explore some of the finest marine locations on the planet. Tours start from 7 nights with our resort snorkel weeks and exclusively chartered liveaboards to 21 night island hopping snorkel safaris. **Here’s why you should choose us for your next snorkel adventure.** ### The People We bring small groups of snorkelers together, on dedicated group tours designed specifically for snorkeling. ### The Support You’ll be assigned a tour consultant to guide you through all the pre trip planning you can think of. ### The Destinations Carefully researched and selected destinations and local partners, offering the very best underwater encounters. ### The Tour Leaders Our team of guides assist with everything, meeting you at the airport and taking care of you overland and underwater, from start to finish. ### The Experience Over 15 years of experience leading group tours to some of the world’s most remote destinations. ### The Range Choose from island hopping safaris & private boat charters to photography & freediving workshops. ### 95% Rated 5\* Excellent by Snorkel Venture Guests on Tour [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) ### Search Tours DestinationIndonesiaAlorKomodoHalmaheraMisoolSulawesiRaja AmpatWakatobiBelizeMexicoPalauSolomon IslandsEgyptMaldives Tour StyleFreediving WorkshopIsland Hopping SafariLiveaboardOne Stop Resort MonthJanFebMarAprMayJunJulAugSepOctNovDec Find Tours Recently Released Tours [![Photo of the Komodo Snorkel Liveaboard vessel: the Coralia | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/Coralia-360x240.jpg)](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/ultimate-komodo-snorkel-liveaboard-coralia/)2027 Price [$9,075.00](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/ultimate-komodo-snorkel-liveaboard-coralia/) ### [Ultimate Komodo Snorkel Liveaboard \| Coralia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/ultimate-komodo-snorkel-liveaboard-coralia/) Snorkel safari to the remote reefs of Komodo and beyond by liveaboard 11 nights 15 People [](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/ultimate-komodo-snorkel-liveaboard-coralia/) [![Snorkeler with a mask and camera swimming underwater beside a sea turtle in clear blue water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Naga-Biru-Komodo-360x240.jpg)](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/)2026 Price [$5,990.00](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) ### [West Komodo & Sumbawa: Whale Shark Experience \| Naga Biru Liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) Snorkel safari to the remote reefs of Komodo and beyond by liveaboard 12 nights 12 People [](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) [![Underwater coral reef with colorful corals and a snorkeler swimming in the blue water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Alor-West-Komodo-Raja_Small-360x240.jpg)](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/)2026 Price [$10,750.00](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) ### [Alor, West Komodo & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) Three of Indonesia's finest snorkeling destinations combined into one amazing tour. 22 nights 14 People [](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) [![Vibrant coral reef with a spotted lionfish drifting among colorful corals and a school of small orange fish under sunlit blue water | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/MMII-Banda-Sea-Product-Image-360x240.jpg)](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-banda-sea-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/)[$12,895.00](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-banda-sea-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/) ### [Raja Ampat - Banda Sea - Alor Snorkeling Liveaboard \| Mermaid II](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-banda-sea-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/) Snorkel safari to the remote reefs of Raja Ampat, the Banda Sea, and Alor. 16 Nights 16 People [](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-banda-sea-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/) [![Marlin with long bill swimming through deep blue ocean near a school of small fish and other sea life. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/Marlin-Product-Image-360x240.jpg)](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/mexico-sardine-run/)2027 Price [$5,650.00](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/mexico-sardine-run/) ### [Mexico Sardine Run](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/mexico-sardine-run/) Snorkeling with striped marlins, California sea lions, dorado, and other predators that feed on Mexico's annual sardine run 7 nights 12 People [](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/mexico-sardine-run/) [![Snorkeler swimming over coral reef | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/North-Indo-360x240.jpg)](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/north-indonesia-snorkeling-safari/)[$11,950.00](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/north-indonesia-snorkeling-safari/) ### [North Indonesia Snorkel Safari \| Sulawesi-Halmahera-Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/north-indonesia-snorkeling-safari/) An amazing Indonesia safari that combines pristine reefs and big fish! 21 nights 16 People [](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/north-indonesia-snorkeling-safari/) [![whale shark | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Cenderawasih-Title-360x240.jpg)](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay-by-liveaboard-coralia-liveaboard/)2028 Price [$9,235.00](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay-by-liveaboard-coralia-liveaboard/) ### [Cenderawasih Bay by Liveaboard \| Coralia Liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay-by-liveaboard-coralia-liveaboard/) Journey onboard Coralia Liveaboard in search of whale sharks. 11 nights 16 People [](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay-by-liveaboard-coralia-liveaboard/) [![blacktip reef sharks | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/french-polynesia-scaled-360x240.jpg)](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/)2027 Price [$9,450.00](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) ### [French Polynesia by Liveaboard \| Aqua Tiki III](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) Big fish safari style snorkeling in remote and visually stunning French Polynesia. 11 nights 8 [](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) Browse by Tour Style [](#) [](#) [ Free Dive & Photo Workshops ](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/free-dive-photo-workshops/) [ Island Hopping Safari ](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/island-safari/) [ Liveaboard Safari ](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/liveaboard/) [ One Stop Resort ](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-category/resort-week/) Media Content from our Team [ ![2026 Snorkel Venture Friendly Photo Competition Winners](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/SV-Friendly-Photo-Comp-Winners-640x480.jpg) ](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/18/2026-snorkel-venture-friendly-photo-competition-winners/) Alex Lindbloom – 18 September 2026 ## [2026 Snorkel Venture Friendly Photo Competition Winners](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/18/2026-snorkel-venture-friendly-photo-competition-winners/) Finally! After months of receiving your stunning images, we’ve closed the 2026 Snorkel Venture Friendly Photo Competition, and we’ve declared... [Read More](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/18/2026-snorkel-venture-friendly-photo-competition-winners/) [ ![Snorkel Venture Podcast – Episode 4 – Amy Vankanan](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Amy-Website-Banner-Image-640x480.jpg) ](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/16/snorkel-venture-podcast-episode-4-amy-vankanan/) Alex Lindbloom – 16 September 2026 ## [Snorkel Venture Podcast – Episode 4 – Amy Vankanan](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/16/snorkel-venture-podcast-episode-4-amy-vankanan/) Our Snorkel Guide Amy Vankanan joins us to talk about her recent trips through Indonesia's Raja Ampat and even reveals... [Read More](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/16/snorkel-venture-podcast-episode-4-amy-vankanan/) [ ![Komodo Snorkeling vs. Raja Ampat Snorkeling – Which is Better?](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/Komodo-vs-Raja-Comparison-640x480.jpg) ](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/14/komodo-snorkeling-vs-raja-ampat-snorkeling-which-is-better/) Alex Lindbloom – 14 September 2026 ## [Komodo Snorkeling vs. Raja Ampat Snorkeling – Which is Better?](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/14/komodo-snorkeling-vs-raja-ampat-snorkeling-which-is-better/) People often ask about snorkeling in Komodo versus snorkeling in Raja Ampat, wanting to know which one is better. The... [Read More](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/14/komodo-snorkeling-vs-raja-ampat-snorkeling-which-is-better/) [ ![Let’s Go to the Banda Sea](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/P1065616-640x480.jpg) ](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/11/lets-go-to-the-banda-sea/) Alex Lindbloom – 11 September 2026 ## [Let’s Go to the Banda Sea](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/11/lets-go-to-the-banda-sea/) The Banda Sea is a large, semi-circular body of water that lies northeast of Alor and runs up to the... [Read More](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/11/lets-go-to-the-banda-sea/) [ ![Split Shots, How to Shoot Them Without Breaking the Bank or Your Luggage Allowance.](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/SplitArticleBlueHole3-0958390-640x480.jpg) ](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/01/split-shots-how-to-shoot-them-without-breaking-the-bank-or-your-luggage-allowance/) Paul Duxfield – 1 September 2026 ## [Split Shots, How to Shoot Them Without Breaking the Bank or Your Luggage Allowance.](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/01/split-shots-how-to-shoot-them-without-breaking-the-bank-or-your-luggage-allowance/) What Is A Split Shot? Also Known As A Half-half Or An Over-under Shot? Well, in the world of underwater... [Read More](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/01/split-shots-how-to-shoot-them-without-breaking-the-bank-or-your-luggage-allowance/) [ ![Raja Ampat Snorkeling Tours – Everything You Need To Know](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Raja-Ampat-Snorkeling-Tour-640x480.jpg) ](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/01/raja-ampat-snorkeling-tours/) Alex Lindbloom – 1 September 2026 ## [Raja Ampat Snorkeling Tours – Everything You Need To Know](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/01/raja-ampat-snorkeling-tours/) If you’re considering a Raja Ampat Snorkeling Tour, your mind is in the right place. There’s no place quite like... [Read More](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/09/01/raja-ampat-snorkeling-tours/) [ ![Camera Housings for the TG Series…Please!](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/P1028234-640x480.jpg) ](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/31/camera-housings-for-the-tg-series-please/) Alex Lindbloom – 31 August 2026 ## [Camera Housings for the TG Series…Please!](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/31/camera-housings-for-the-tg-series-please/) It wasn’t too long ago that if you wanted to take your precious camera underwater with you, you needed to... [Read More](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/31/camera-housings-for-the-tg-series-please/) [ ![Snorkel for Good Webshop Launch!](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-25-at-132148-640x480.png) ](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/25/snorkel-for-good-webshop-launch/) Lydia Vavoula – 25 August 2026 ## [Snorkel for Good Webshop Launch!](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/25/snorkel-for-good-webshop-launch/) We’re incredibly excited to finally share something we’ve been quietly working on behind the scenes for a while now… the... [Read More](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/25/snorkel-for-good-webshop-launch/) [ ![Citizen Science – Lets Get Involved  ](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Getting-the-manta-belly-shot-640x480.jpeg) ](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/25/citizen-science-lets-get-involved/) Lydia Vavoula – 25 August 2026 ## [Citizen Science – Lets Get Involved ](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/25/citizen-science-lets-get-involved/) The word data doesn’t exactly spark excitement for most people. But, mention a database packed with raw data, ready for... [Read More](https://snorkelventure.com/2026/08/25/citizen-science-lets-get-involved/) 1[2](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-cron.php/page/2/?doing_wp_cron=1791474670.7320079803466796875000)[3](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-cron.php/page/3/?doing_wp_cron=1791474670.7320079803466796875000)…[28](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-cron.php/page/28/?doing_wp_cron=1791474670.7320079803466796875000)[Next »](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-cron.php/page/2/?doing_wp_cron=1791474670.7320079803466796875000) Snorkel for Good - Raising Funds for Our Charity Partners --- **SV Rash Guards** \| 50% of the funds raised from our Rash Guard sales goes to our charity partners. Order one of our very own Snorkel Venture branded Rash Guards and support conservation and community projects around the world. **[Buy One HERE](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/).** **SV Every Trip** \| Each tour is partnered with a charity organisation that supports the protection of the places we visit. For every person on our tours we donate 100 USD. **SV Shop \|** 50% of the funds raised at the SV Shop goes to our charity partners. To find out more visit our shop **[HERE](http://www.snorkelforgood.com)**. #### Thrive Conservation \| Misool Foundation \| No Trash Triangle Initiative \| Classroom of Hope \| Manta Trust ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/P1455646-2.jpg "P1455646-2 | Snorkel Venture") --- ### [2027 Tours](https://snorkelventure.com/2027-tours/) **Published:** April 3, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** ### January **Triton Bay and Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [8 – 20 January \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) --- ### February **Triton Bay and Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [5 – 17 February \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) **Belize Snorkel Week **–** Turneffe Resort \| 7 Nights** [12 – 20 February \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) **Raja Ampat by Liveaboard \| Coralia** [15 – 26 February \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) --- ### March **Palau by Liveaboard \| Aggressor** [6 – 21 March \| 1 Female Share (Upper Bunk) Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-liveaboard-snorkeling-safari/) **Misool Resort Snorkel Tour – 14 Night Tour** [10 – 24 March \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tour-13-nights/) **Raja Ampat by Liveaboard \| Coralia** [13 – 24 March \| 1 Male Share Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) **Alor, West Komodo and Raja Ampat** [19 March – 11 April \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **Bunaken, Bangka & Raja Ampat** [23 March – 11 April \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) --- ### April **Palau by Liveaboard \| Aggressor** [3 – 18 April \| 1 Female Share (Upper Bunk) Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-liveaboard-snorkeling-safari/) **West Komodo & Alor** [9 – 24 April \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-alor-snorkel-safari/) **Raja Ampat – Banda Sea – Alor Snorkeling Liveaboard \| Mermaid II** [April 17 – May 3 \| 3 Deluxe Cabins + 1 Male Share (Budget Cabin)](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-banda-sea-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/) **French Polynesia by Liveaboard \| Aqua Tiki III** [April 18 – 29 \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) **Sulawesi and Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [20 April – 5 May \| 4 Rooms Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-safari-2025/) **Raja Ampat & Misool Snorkel Safari** [20 April – 9 May \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-north-to-south/) **Misool & Wakatobi Snorkel Safari** [21 April – 10 May \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-wakatobi-safari/) **Alor & Komodo Snorkel Liveaboard \| Coralia** [25 April – 7 May \| 2 Deluxe (Lower Deck) Cabins + 1 Male Twin Share Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-and-komodo-snorkel-liveaboard-coralia/) **Misool Resort Snorkel Tour \| 11 Night Tour** [28 April – 9 May \| 1 South Beach Villa available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tours/) **French Polynesia by Liveaboard \| Aqua Tiki III** [April 30 – 11 May \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) **Belize Snorkel Week **–** Turneffe Resort \| 7 Nights** [30 April – 8 May \| 2 Rooms Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) **West Komodo & Sumbawa – Whale Shark Experience \| Naga Biru Liveaboard** [30 April – 14 May \| 1 Superior Cabin + 1 Deluxe Cabin Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) --- ### May **Belize Snorkel Week **–** Turneffe Resort \| 7 Nights** [7 – 15 May \| 4 Rooms Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) **Ultimate Komodo Snorkel Liveaboard \| Coralia** [8 – 19 May \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/ultimate-komodo-snorkel-liveaboard-coralia/) **West Komodo & Sumbawa – Whale Shark Experience \| Naga Biru Liveaboard** [14 – 28 May \| 1 Superior Cabin + 1 Grand Deluxe Cabin + 1 Male Share in a Grand Deluxe Cabin Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) --- ### June **Bunaken & Bangka Island Shallow Freediving Workshop** [4 – 17 June \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-island-shallow-freediving-workshop/) --- ### July **Alor Snorkel Tour – Big Creatures & Small Critters** [3 – 14 July \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-safari/) **Alor Snorkel Tour – Big Creatures & Small Critters** [13 – 24 July \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-safari/) **Egypt Snorkeling and Solar Eclipse Tour** [30 July – 12 August \| 1 Male Twin Share (on the boat) Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-eclipse-snorkel-tour/) --- ### August **Halmahera Snorkeling Tour** [01 – 12 August \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/halmahera-snorkeling-tour/) **Maldives Manta Research Expedition by Liveaboard \| Black Manta** [11 – 22 August \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/maldives-manta-research-expedition-by-liveaboard-black-manta/) **West Komodo & Alor** [27 August – 11 September \| 4 Rooms Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-alor-snorkel-safari/) --- ### September **Islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera Snorkel Safari** [5 – 20 September \| 3 Rooms + 1 Female Twin Share Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/islands-of-sulawesi-and-halmahera-snorkel-safari/) **Wakatobi Resort Snorkel Tour \| 12 Night Tour** [12 – 24 September \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/12-day-wakatobi-snorkeling-safari/) **West Komodo & Sumbawa – Whale Shark Experience \| Naga Biru Liveaboard** [17 September – 1 October \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) --- ### October **Sulawesi and Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [2 – 17 October \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-safari-2025/) **Bunaken, Bangka & Raja Ampat** [5 – 24 October \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **Best of Komodo Snorkel Liveaboard \| Naga Biru** [14 – 26 October \| 1 Female Twin Share in a Deluxe Cabin Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/best-of-komodo-snorkel-safari-with-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Alor & Misool Snorkel Safari** [15 October – 4 November \| 1 Male Twin Share Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-misool-snorkel-safari/) **Misool Resort Snorkel Tour \| 11 Night Tour** [15 – 26 October \| 2 Rooms Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tours/) **Alor & Misool Snorkel Safari** [23 October – 11 November \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-misool-snorkel-safari/) **West Komodo & Alor** [24 October – 8 November \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-alor-snorkel-safari/) --- ### November **Mexico Sardine Run** [9 – 16 November \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/mexico-sardine-run/) **Raja Ampat by Liveaboard \| Coralia** [16 – 27 November \| 3 Cabins Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) --- ### [Meet the Team](https://snorkelventure.com/meet-the-team/) **Published:** September 21, 2020 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Ben-S.png "Ben S | Snorkel Venture") ***Ben – Co-Founder*** **Where have you been?** I left the UK in 2002 and worked as a dive and snorkel guide for 10 years in various parts of Asia, Central America and Africa. **What do you do?** I oversee the operations and manage our Snorkel for Good charity arm of the company – which raises funds for our conservation and sustainability partners. **Favorite Creature?** Aside from my two children it has to be the characterful blenny. They are fairly common, be sure to look out on the reef top darting over hard corals. Their comical expression makes me smile. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Sarah-K.png "Sarah K | Snorkel Venture") ***Sarah – Co-Founder*** **Where have you been?** I started my career as a diving instructor in Belize in 2002 before meeting Ben in Malaysia in 2005. I worked in Australia, Fiji and many parts of Asia before helping set up the company. **What do you do?** I like working with numbers, so pretty much anything that involves figures is my department. I also like to take exploratory tours when they are required! **Favorite Creature?** Like a lot of people I’m a big fan of sea slugs and nudibranchs – the colours and variations are always a delight to see on the reef. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Bernita-new.png "Bernita new | Snorkel Venture") ***Bernita – Destination Specialist & Operations Manager*** **Where have you been?** I’m from Cape Town, but I met Ben and Sarah at a dive school in Malaysia in 2005 and we traveled a lot together. After my dive instructor course I worked in Philippines & Indonesia for many years. More recently I have snorkeled Belize, Palau and loads of other exciting places. **What do you do?** I love leading tours and exploring new potential destinations, if there’s a chance to explore a new area then my hand is always up! I’m the Operations Manager for the company. **Favorite Creature?** Bobtail Squid, because it looks like it wants to have its cheeks pinched. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Alex.png "Alex | Snorkel Venture") ***Alex – Destination Manager,** **Tour Leader & Videographer/Photographer*** **Where have you been?** Traveling, snorkeling, and underwater film and photography are my passions. Since I’ve been in this line of work since 2009 I’ve had the opportunity to travel to all the places we offer snorkeling safaris to with Snorkel Venture plus quite a few other places! **What do you do?** I lead a lot of the tours and pretty much all the photography and video work on the site is my own. I also run photo workshops, write blogs, newsletters, and maintain the website. Basically, if there’s writing or photos/video involved there’s a good chance it’s from me. **Favourite Creature?** Mimic Octopus – they are very smart and can adapt to look like lots of other marine life. They always put on a good show in the water. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Crystal.png "Crystal | Snorkel Venture") ***Crystal – Destination Specialist & Assistant Tour Leader*** **Where have you been?** I spent most of my life travelling this incredible world we live in, exploring reefs across the coral triangle and beyond. I’ve travelled and worked across many parts of Southeast Asia. I still try to get out and explore as much as possible, whether it’s family adventures or to assist our wonderful tour leaders! **What do you do?** I’m a Tour Consultant and organise tours to many of our amazing locations, including Alor, West Komodo, Bunaken, Raja Ampat, Sumbawa, Solomon Islands, Belize, and more. I really enjoy liaising with our guests and helping them find the tour that’s the perfect fit for them. I’m also an assistant tour leader, which means I get to join our tours to these destinations, updating my knowledge on how everything runs, reconnecting with our partner resorts, and finally putting emails to faces… all while swapping screens for snorkels with our wonderful guests! **Favourite creature?** I love snorkelling with manta rays and turtles, and I have a real soft spot for discovering all the fascinating little critters that call the reef home. Capturing these magnificent underwater moments through photography has become one of my greatest joys! ![Screenshot_26-11-2024_112541_www.facebook.com](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Screenshot_26-11-2024_112541_www.facebook.com_-250x250.jpeg "Screenshot_26-11-2024_112541_www.facebook.com") ***Kelly – Tour Consultant*** **Where have you been?** I love travelling and experiencing new cultures & places, so having taken 2 career breaks and more holidays than I can count, I’ve seen a fair amount! I spent 9 months backpacking around Southeast Asia, Australia and New Zealand and then another year through Central & South America, with a boat trip in the Galapagos an absolute highlight. **What do you do?** I’m a Tour Consultant so I handle the booking and logistics for several tours and help clients find the right destinations and trips for them. **Favorite creature?**I love turtles and seahorses, and really just anything that’s a little bit strange & colourful. ![Woman wearing sunglasses on a boat, braided hair, white tank top, shell pendant necklace, ocean behind.](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/10/Venusboat-copy-250x250.jpg "Venusboat copy") ***Venus Suwan –Tour Consultant*** **Where have you been?** My first-ever big travel trip was around Southeast Asia, where I discovered diving and fell in love with it in Thailand and Malaysia, which led me to get my Divemaster certification. This led me to work as a dive and whale shark guide around Australia. I’ve since worked in the travel industry, which has given me the chance to explore even more of the world! **What do you do?** I’m a Destination Specialist & Tour Consultant, helping clients plan unforgettable adventures. I love getting to know what people are looking for and sharing my passion for wildlife, snorkeling, and exploring the more remote corners of the world. Outside of work, I’m also a circus performer specializing in hula hooping, and I love being outdoors and keeping active, especially when there’s an adventure involved! **Favorite Creature?** Whales of all kinds! I’ve been fascinated by them ever since watching *Free Willy* as a child. There’s something magical about seeing them in the wild, but watching a whale breach is one of the most incredible things to me. ![WhatsApp Image 2023-07-19 at 8.12.31 PM](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/WhatsApp-Image-2023-07-19-at-8.12.31-PM-250x250.jpeg "WhatsApp Image 2023-07-19 at 8.12.31 PM") ***Graham – Destination Specialist & Assistant Tour Leader*** **Where have you been?** Australia, Fiji, Vanuatu, Malta, Hawaii, Gili Islands, Spain, UK, Egypt, and French Polynesia **What do you do?** I’m a Destination Specialist which means I spent a lot of time helping guests choose the right tour for them. I also get to check out new destinations to make sure they are right for our clients. Also, several times a year I am fortunate enough to lead tours to any one of our many destinations. **Favorite Creature?** Mantis shrimp, octopus, and cuttlefish. Too tough to choose just one! ![P1026956](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1026956-250x250.jpg "P1026956") ***Lydia – Resident Marine Biologist, Snorkel For Good Coordinator and Tour Leader*** **Where have you been?** I’ll admit, I’m a sucker for an endless summer — I tend to chase the sun wherever it shines. Most recently, I spent five years living and working in Australia, from Far North Queensland, where I worked with corals on the Great Barrier Reef, to Western Australia, where I worked on the Ningaloo Reef, snorkeling with humpbacks and whale sharks. **What do you do?** My background is in Marine biology and Conservation. Through working as a dive and snorkel guide, I found my passion lies in marine education. My role at Snorkel Venture is to coordinate our Snorkel For Good program, write content for the magazine and website, and I will be on tour with you all! **Favorite creature?** I once saw a cuttlefish laying eggs in a coral, and since then, they have been at the top of my list. It was mesmerizing. Also, a big shout-out to humpback whales! ![56337130_3129667743725674_6965484953136005120_n](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/56337130_3129667743725674_6965484953136005120_n-e1631186955485-225x225.jpg "56337130_3129667743725674_6965484953136005120_n") ***Marcus – Tour Leader*** **Where have you been?** I was a dive and snorkel guide in South East Asia for several years and spent the last 5 living and working in Komodo. I have been lucky enough to dive and snorkel in many places around world. I currently live in Thailand. **What do you do?** Spend as much time in the water as possible! I’m an underwater photography enthusiast, so I usually have a camera in my hand. I also love showing people new marine creatures. **Favourite Creature?** Of course I love all the usual suspects- mantas, sharks and turtles. But the one that really steals the show for me is the Leafy Sea Dragon. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Duxy.png "Duxy | Snorkel Venture") ***Paul ‘Duxy’ – Tour Leader & Photo Pro*** **Where have you been?** I was a dive guide in Egypt for many years and have worked for many different travel companies, leading tours all over the world. **What do you do?** Lead as many tours as possible. I’m also a photo specialist and love helping people with their cameras, especially people who are just getting to grips with them. Meeting new people is something I really love about being on tour. **Favourite Creature?** Somehow incredibly ugly and beautiful at the same time – the glorious Frogfish. ![Dalton](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Dalton-250x250.jpg "Dalton") ***Dalton – Tour Leader*** **Where have you been?** I love to travel and have been doing so all my life. I have settled in Asia over the last 12 years and you will likely find me in Thailand, Malaysia, or Indonesia. **What do you do?** I’m a tour leader and love everything about the underwater world. I lead as many tours as possible as it’s the best feeling to introduce people to the life beneath the waves. **Favorite creature?** I love the big stuff, but hands down my favorite creature has got to be the porcupine pufferfish. Just so much personality and they remember you if you meet them regularly. ![Asha](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/Asha-250x250.jpg "Asha") ***Asha – Tour Leader*** **Where have you been?** I was born in Malaysia and I have traveled extensively in Asia. My favorite places have got to be Indonesia, Thailand, and the Philippines. Recently I have been to Komodo, Alor, Wakatobi, and Misool but I find it hard to choose a favorite. **What do you do?** I’m a full-time yoga instructor and I have been an underwater guide for the last 7 years. **Favorite creature?** I love the cute stuff like eagle rays, turtles and box fish – all the things with cute faces. ![Amy Photo](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Amy-Photo-scaled-250x250.jpg "Amy Photo") ***Amy – Tour Leader*** **Where have you been?** After spending several years as a dive instructor, I’ve been lucky enough to explore some of the planet’s most incredible marine ecosystems. I love any kind of adventure and base most of my trips around photography and exploring the most remote corners of the world—whether it’s snorkeling, diving, motorcycling, or riding horses! **What do you do?** These days, I’m passionate about guiding and sharing my love for nature, above or below the water. You’ll often find me pointing out hidden gems underwater or snapping photos of marine life. Storytelling is my thing—whether it’s through photography or helping guests discover the magic beneath the surface. **Favorite Creature?** Tough choice, but I have a soft spot for octopuses—they’re so smart and endlessly fascinating. And sea otters—they’re adorable, playful, and always make me smile! ![Luca Profile Pic](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Luca-Profile-Pic-250x250.jpg "Luca Profile Pic") ***Luca – Leader Tour Leader*** **Where have you been?** For the past 15 years I’ve mostly been based in Southeast Asia, living between Thailand and Indonesia, with some time spent in Mexico and the Caribbean. Around 10 of those years were dedicated to working as a dive and snorkel guide, which allowed me to explore many different parts of the world and spend most of my time in the ocean. **What do you do?** I work remotely, collaborating with startups, which gives me the flexibility to stay close to what I enjoy most: being in the water. Surfing is a big part of my life, along with photography and outdoor activities. I’m also passionate about observing marine life and sharing that curiosity with others. **Favorite Creature?** Mantas, without a doubt: their elegance, calm presence, and the sense of peace they bring underwater are truly special. That said, I’m fascinated by all marine life, especially the smaller critters and their unique behaviors. ![Emma Profile](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Emma-Profile-250x250.jpg "Emma Profile") ***Emma – Freediving Instructor & Tour Leader*** **Where have you been?** My first experience of a coral reef was over thirty years ago in Indonesia, and it completely blew my mind. Since then I’ve dived and taught freediving in many parts of the world, including Egypt, the Mediterranean, the UK, the Great Lakes, the Caribbean, and the Maldives. Indonesia still holds a very special place in my heart though, as the reefs are extraordinary and the people are some of the warmest you’ll ever meet. **What do you do?** I’m a tour leader and the freediving specialist at Snorkel Venture, bringing nearly three decades of instructing experience to our Shallow-Water Freediving Workshops in Belize and Indonesia. I’m also a breathing coach and yoga teacher, and I love helping guests feel more relaxed, confident and comfortable in the water. It’s always a joy to see someone discover a whole new way to experience the reef. **Favorite Creature?** This is a tough question because I’m fascinated by everything underwater! For small creatures, it’s a tie between the juvenile spotted drum as it’s so beautiful and a treat to find if you’re looking into crevices, and the juvenile yellowtail damselfish, whose bright blue spots seem to glow like tiny lights. For larger animals, I have to say spinner dolphins. They’re incredibly playful and often just as curious about us as we are about them. ![Molly Profile](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Molly-Profile-250x250.jpg "Molly Profile") ***Molly (Alex’s Mom) – Distribution Manager*** ***Where Have You Been?*** One of my sons, Alex, has lived and worked in Thailand and Indonesia, so I learned to dive and snorkel to take some of the most amazing trips. I’ll never forget the surprise of simply going underwater and seeing all the life happening before you. I’ve been lucky to snorkel around the Caribbean, Thailand, Komodo, Bali, Bangka Island, and Cenderawasih Bay. ***What Do You Do?*** I am in charge of distributing all the Snorkel Venture merchandise, which raises money for Snorkel for Good. The rest of the time, I’m a retired teacher, hiker & mountain biker. ***Favorite Creature?*** It’s hard to choose a favorite with so many wonderful creatures out there, but I’d have to choose nudibranchs. They are intriguing and amazing in how many kinds of colors, shapes, and sizes there are. They look like a creature an artist would design. --- ### [2028 Tours](https://snorkelventure.com/2028-tours/) **Published:** November 19, 2025 **Author:** Bernita Lewin **Content:** ### January **Triton Bay & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [14 – 26 January \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) **Raja Ampat & Misool Snorkel Safari** [27 January – 15 February \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-north-to-south/) **Raja Ampat by Liveaboard \| Coralia** [28 January – 8 February \| 1 Cabin + 1 Female Twin Share Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) --- ### February **Triton Bay & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [4 – 16 February \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) **Raja Ampat by Liveaboard \| Coralia** [09 – 20 February \| 2 Cabins + 1 Female Twin Share Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) **Belize Freediving Workshop and Snorkel Tour \| Turneffe Island Resort** [22 February – 4 March \| 4 Rooms Available ](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-shallow-freediving-workshop-at-turneffe-island-resort/) --- ### March **Belize Snorkel Week **–** Turneffe Resort \| 7 Nights** [3 – 11 March \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) **Triton Bay & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [24 March – 5 April \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) **Naga Biru Liveaboard \| West Komodo & Sumbawa: Whale Shark Experience** [31 March – 14 April \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Alor, West Komodo & Raja Ampat** [31 March – 23 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/)[ \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) --- ### April **West Komodo & Alor** [02 – 17 April \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-alor-snorkel-safari/) **Naga Biru Liveaboard \| West Komodo & Sumbawa: Whale Shark Experience** [15 – 29 April\| 4 Cabins Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Misool & Wakatobi Snorkel Safari** [16 April – 5 May \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-wakatobi-safari/) **Alor & Misool Snorkel Safari** [16 April – 6 May \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-misool-snorkeling-safari/) **Alor, West Komodo & Raja Ampat** [24 April – 17 May \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **Raja Ampat & Misool Snorkel Safari** [25 April – 15 May \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-north-to-south/) --- ### May **Naga Biru Liveaboard \| Best of Komodo** [02 – 14 May \| 4 Cabins Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/best-of-komodo-snorkel-safari-with-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **French Polynesia by Liveaboard \| Aqua Tiki III** [04 – 15 May \| 1 Female Share Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) **Solomon Islands Liveaboard \| Bilikiki** [6 – 20 May \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/solomon-islands-bilikiki-liveaboard/) **Belize Snorkel Week **–** Turneffe Resort \| 7 Nights** [12 – 20 May \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) **West Komodo & Alor** [12 – 27 May \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-alor-snorkel-safari/) **Misool Resort Snorkel Tour – 14 Night Tour** [13 – 27 May \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tour-13-nights/) **French Polynesia by Liveaboard \| Aqua Tiki III** [16 – 27 May \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) **Komodo & Alor by Snorkel Liveaboard \| Naga Biru** [17 – 30 May \| 1 Male Twin Share Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/komodo-and-alor-by-snorkel-liveaboard/) **Belize Snorkel Week **–** Turneffe Resort \| 7 Nights** [19 – 27 May \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) --- ### June --- ### July **Alami Alor Big Creatures & Small Critters** [4 -15 July \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/product/alor-safari/) **Cenderawasih Bay by Liveaboard \| Coralia** [11 – 22 July \| 2 Cabins + 1 Female Twin Share Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay/) **Alami Alor Big Creatures & Small Critters** [15 – 26 July \| 3 Rooms Available](https://snorkelventure.com/product/alor-safari/) **Cenderawasih Bay by Liveaboard \| Coralia** [23 July – 3 August \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay/) --- ### August **Halmahera Snorkeling Tour \| 12 Nights** [07 – 19 August \| 4 Rooms Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/halmahera-snorkeling-tour/) **Maldives Manta Research Expedition by Liveaboard \| Black Manta** [15 – 26 August \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/maldives-manta-research-expedition-by-liveaboard-black-manta/) --- ### September **Naga Biru Liveaboard \| Best of Komodo** [3 – 15 September \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/best-of-komodo-snorkel-safari-with-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Wakatobi Resort Snorkel Tour \| 12 Night Tour** [03 – 15 September \| 2 Rooms Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/12-day-wakatobi-snorkeling-safari/) **Naga Biru Liveaboard \| West Komodo & Sumbawa: Whale Shark Experience** [19 Sep – 03 Oct \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Alor, West Komodo & Raja Ampat** [29 September – 22 October\| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) --- ### October **Sulawesi & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [3 – 18 October \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-safari-2025/) **Naga Biru Liveaboard \| West Komodo & Sumbawa: Whale Shark Experience** [4 – 18 October \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Banda Islands and Triton Bay Liveaboard \| Coralia Dua** [05 – 18 October \| 1 Lower Deck Twin Cabin + 1 Male Twin Share Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/banda-islands-triton-bay-snorkeling-liveaboard-coralia-dua/) **Bunaken, Bangka & Raja Ampat** [10 – 29 October \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **North Indonesia Snorkel Safari \| Sulawesi – Halmahera – Raja Ampat** [15 October – 05 November \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/north-indonesia-snorkeling-safari/) --- ### November **Mexico Sardine Run \| 7 Night Tour** [11 – 18 November \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/mexico-sardine-run/) **Palau by Liveaboard \| Solitude Gaia** [21 November – 02 December \| 3 Cabins Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/snorkeling-palau-by-liveaboard-solitude-gaia/) **Misool Resort Snorkel Tour \| 14 Night Tour** [23 November – 7 December \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tour-13-nights/) **Raja Ampat by Liveaboard \| Coralia** [26 November – 06 December \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) --- ### December **Misool Resort Snorkel Tour \| 11 Night Tour** [5 – 16 December \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tours/) **Palau by Liveaboard \| Solitude Gaia** [05 – 16 December \| 4 Cabins Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/snorkeling-palau-by-liveaboard-solitude-gaia/) --- ### [2026 Tours](https://snorkelventure.com/2026-tours/) **Published:** February 19, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** ### October **West Komodo & Sumbawa: Whale Shark Experience \| Naga Biru** [9 – 23 October \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Forgotten Islands Snorkeling Liveaboard \| Coralia** [20 October – 1 November \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/forgotten-islands-snorkeling-liveaboard-coralia/) **Alor, West Komodo & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [23 October – 15 November \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) --- ### November **Raja Ampat by Liveaboard \| Coralia** [26 November – 6 December \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) **Misool Resort Snorkel Tour \| 11 Night Tour** [28 November – 9 December \| FULL](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tours/) --- ### [By Destination](https://snorkelventure.com/by-destination/) **Published:** January 27, 2022 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** ## Tours By Destination - [2026](#1708357879044-d32be925-6eef) - [2027](#1743759193097-3414f6e3-a7f9) - [2028](#1763985739326-d2ae7c76-c9ad) #### [2026](#1708357879044-d32be925-6eef) ### Indonesia **Alor & West Komodo Snorkel Safari** [25 September – 9 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-and-west-komodo-snorkel-safari/) **Alor, West Komodo & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [23 October – 15 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **Forgotten Islands Snorkel Liveaboard \| Coralia** [ 20 October – 1 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/forgotten-islands-snorkeling-liveaboard-coralia/) **Misool Resort Snorkel Tour \| 11 Night Tour** [28 November – 9 December](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tours/) **Misool Resort Snorkel Tour \| 14 Night Tour** [28 September – 12 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tour-13-nights/) **Raja Ampat by Liveaboard \| Coralia** [26 November – 6 December](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) **Sulawesi & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [3 -18 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-safari-2025/) #### [2027](#1743759193097-3414f6e3-a7f9) ### Indonesia **Triton Bay and Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [8 – 20 January](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) [5 – 17 February](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) **Raja Ampat by Liveaboard \| Coralia** [15 – 26 February](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) [13 – 24 March](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) [16 – 27 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) **Misool Resort Snorkel Tour – 14 Night Tour** [10 – 24 March](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tour-13-nights/) **Raja Ampat – Banda Sea – Alor Snorkel Liveaboard \| Mermaid II** [17 April – 3 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-banda-sea-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/) **Alor, West Komodo & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [19 March – 11 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **Bunaken, Bangka & Raja Ampat** [23 March – 11 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) [5 – 24 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **West Komodo & Alor Snorkel Safari** [9 – 24 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-alor-snorkel-safari/) [27 August – 11 September](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-alor-snorkel-safari/) [24 October – 8 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-alor-snorkel-safari/) **Sulawesi and Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [20 April – 5 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-safari-2025/) [2 – 17 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-safari-2025/) **Raja Ampat & Misool Snorkel Safari** [20 April – 9 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-north-to-south/) **Misool & Wakatobi Snorkel Safari** [21 April – 10 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-wakatobi-safari/) **Alor & Komodo Snorkel Liveaboard \| Coralia** [25 April – 7 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-and-komodo-snorkel-liveaboard-coralia/) **Misool Resort Snorkel Tour \| 11 Night Tour** [28 April – 9 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tours/) [15 – 26 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tours/) **Ultimate Komodo Snorkel Liveaboard \| Coralia** [8 – 19 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/ultimate-komodo-snorkel-liveaboard-coralia/) **Alor Snorkel Tour – Big Creatures and Small Critters \| 11 Nights** [3 – 14 July](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-safari/) **Halmahera Snorkel Tour** [1 – 12 August](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/halmahera-snorkeling-tour/) **Wakatobi Resort Snorkel Tour \| 12 Night Tour** [12 – 24 September](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/12-day-wakatobi-snorkeling-safari/) **West Komodo and Sumbawa: Whale Shark Experience \| Naga Biru Liveaboard** [17 September – 1 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Best of Komodo Snorkel Liveaboard \| Naga Biru** [14 – 26 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/best-of-komodo-snorkel-safari-with-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Alor & Misool Snorkel Safari** [15 October – 4 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-misool-snorkel-safari/) [23 October – 11 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-misool-snorkel-safari/) --- ### Belize **Belize Snorkel Week \| Turneffe Resort** [12 – 20 February](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) [30 April – 8 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) [7 – 15 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) --- ### Palau **Palau by Liveaboard \| Aggressor** [6 – 22 March](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-liveaboard-snorkeling-safari/) [3 – 18 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-snorkeling-liveaboard-safari/) --- ### Egypt **Egypt Snorkeling and Solar Eclipse Tour** [30 July – 12 August](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-eclipse-snorkel-tour/) --- ### Maldives **Maldives Manta Research Expedition by Liveaboard \|Black Manta** [12 – 22 August](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/maldives-manta-research-expedition-by-liveaboard-black-manta/) --- ### French Polynesia **French Polynesia by Liveaboard \| Aqua Tiki III** [18 – 29 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) [30 April – 11 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) --- ### Mexico **Mexico Sardine Run** [14 – 20 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/mexico-sardine-run/) #### [2028](#1763985739326-d2ae7c76-c9ad) ### Indonesia **Triton Bay and Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [14 – 26 January](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) [4 -16 February](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) [24 March – 5 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) **Raja Ampat & Misool Snorkel Safari** [27 January – 15 February](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-north-to-south/) [25 April – 15 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-north-to-south/) **Raja Ampat by Liveaboard \| Coralia** [28 January – 8 February](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) [9 – 20 February](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) [26 November – 6 December](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) **West Komodo & Sumbawa: Whale Shark Experience \| Naga Biru Liveaboard** [31 March – 14 April ](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) [15 – 29 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) [19 September – 03 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) [4 – 18 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Alor, West Komodo & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [31 March – 23 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) [24 April – 17 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) [29 September – 22 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **West Komodo & Alor** [2 – 17 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-alor-snorkel-safari/) [12 – 27 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-alor-snorkel-safari/) **Misool & Wakatobi** [16 April – 5 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-wakatobi-safari/) **Alor & Misool Snorkel Safari** [16 April – 6 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-misool-snorkeling-safari/) **Best of Komodo \| Naga Biru Liveaboard** [2 – 14 May ](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/best-of-komodo-snorkel-safari-with-naga-biru-liveaboard/) [3 – 15 September](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/best-of-komodo-snorkel-safari-with-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Misool Resort Snorkel Tour – 14 Night Tour** [13 – 27 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tour-13-nights/) [23 November – 7 December](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tour-13-nights/) **Komodo & Alor by Snorkel Liveaboard \| Naga Biru** [17 – 30 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/komodo-and-alor-by-snorkel-liveaboard/) **Alami Alor Big Creatures & Small Critters** [4 – 15 July](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-safari/) [15 – 26 July](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-safari/) **Cenderawasih Bay by Liveaboard \| Coralia** [12 – 22 July](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) [24 July – 3 August](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay-by-liveaboard-coralia-liveaboard/) **Halmahera Snorkel Tour \| 12 Nights** [7 – 19 August](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/halmahera-snorkeling-tour/) **Wakatobi Resort Snorkel Tour \| 12 Night Tour** [3 – 15 September](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/12-day-wakatobi-snorkeling-safari/) **Sulawesi & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [3 – 18 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-safari-2025/) **Bunaken, Bangka & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari** [10 – 29 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **North Indonesia Snorkel Safari \| Sulawesi – Halmahera – Raja Ampat** [15 October – 5 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/north-indonesia-snorkeling-safari/) **Misool Resort Snorkel Tour \| 11 Nights** [5 – 16 December](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tours/) ### Belize **Belize Freediving Workshop and Snorkel Tour – Turneffe Island Resort \| 11 Nights** [22 February – 4 March ](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-shallow-freediving-workshop-at-turneffe-island-resort/) **Belize Snorkel Week – Turneffe Island Resort \| 7 Nights** [18 – 26 February](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) [25 February – 4 March](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) [12 – 20 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) [19 – 27 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) ### French Polynesia **French Polynesia by Liveaboard \| Aquatiki III** [4 – 15 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) [16 – 27 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) ### Solomon Islands **Solomon Islands by Liveaboard \| Bilikiki** [6 – 20 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/solomon-islands-bilikiki-liveaboard/) ### Maldives **Maldives Manta Research Expedition by Liveaboard \| Black Manta** [15 – 26 August](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/maldives-manta-research-expedition-by-liveaboard-black-manta/) --- ### [Snorkel For Good Shop](https://snorkelventure.com/rash-guard-program/) **Published:** March 16, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** With every purchase you make, you’ll be directly supporting marine conservation efforts and helping local coastal communities around the world. To learn more about the real-world impact your orders create, click[ HERE](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/about-1). 50% of your contribution goes to our trusted charity partners. All pricing includes free shipping within the USA. We are sorry we only ship to the USA currently, for shipping to the rest of the world please contact us [HERE](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/contact). **Please allow us to 14 days for delivery, this allows us to keep our costs low and raise more for our charity partners.** # **Snorkel for Good Products** [Visit the Snorkel for Good Website for more information! ](https://www.snorkelforgood.com) [![Blue long-sleeve snorkeling rash guard with a circular coral reef graphic on the chest; back shows the 'snorkelventure' logo on blue with white accents. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/SV-Rashies_Coral-Print.webp "SV Rashies_Coral Print | Snorkel Venture")](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/rashguards) # **Snorkel Venture Rash Guard – Whale Shark Design** - Made from reclaimed ghosts nets – removing and repurposing plastic waste with every garment. - Provides 50+ UV protection. - Quick Dry. [Click to Shop](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/rashguards) [![Sunlight streams through clear tropical water onto red coral and green kelp on a reef.](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/IMG_5688-scaled-555x345.jpg "IMG_5688")](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/prints) **Wall Art Prints** Our wall art prints are photographs taken by our photo pros, whilst on tour. Featuring some of our favorite ecosystems and wildlife. [Click to Shop](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/prints) [![Spiral notebook titled Snorkel Venture: Reef Fish Identification with a colorful striped reef fish illustration on a sandy surface, a blue pen beside it.](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/SVFishIDSlate_Front-555x345.webp "SV+Fish+ID+Slate_Front")](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/snorkeling-accessories) # Waterproof Fish ID Slates & Note Pad Use these slates to identify reef fish throughout the Caribbean or the Coral Triangle. The durable, waterproof fish-identification slates make spotting and recording species easier than ever. Printed on lightweight, tear-proof 150-micron plastic. Include space for notes and quick ID tips (distinctive markings, habitat, size ranges). [Click to Shop](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/snorkeling-accessories) [![Open magazine spreads featuring underwater marine life photographs and bold blue magazine title 'snorkelventure' across blue-tinted pages, ocean imagery dominates the layout.](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snorkel-Venture-magazine-02-mockup-07.18.18-scaled-e1782368527648-555x345.jpg "Snorkel Venture magazine 02 mockup 07.18.18")](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/snorkel-ventrue-magazine) **Snorkel Venture Magazine** Purchase any issue of our annual magazine, featuring content written by the entire Snorkel Venture team on all things snorkeling. Read about destination inspiration, conservation initiatives, photography tips, marine life and lots more! [Click to Shop](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/store) ![Front: teal T-shirt with a light-blue 'snorkelventure' logo on the left chest area, within a turquoise highlight.](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/SV-T-Blue-Front-Back-555x340.webp "SV T-Blue-Front Back") **Snorkel for Good T-shirt** Our Snorkel for Good Fourth Element T-shirt comes in a classic grey or stargazer blue. Featuring a striking marine-life illustration across the front and the Snorkel Venture logo on the back, is soft, comfortable and easy to wear, it’s ideal for traveling, relaxing after a day in the water, or simply bringing a little bit of the ocean into your everyday wardrobe. [Click to Shop](https://www.snorkelforgood.com/t-shirts) --- ### [Snorkeling Responsibly](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkeling-responsibly/) **Published:** March 31, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** ## **Things to Consider Before Your Trip** ![download-2026-03-18T18_29_31-2](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/download-2026-03-18T18_29_31-2-scaled-300x300.jpg "download-2026-03-18T18_29_31-2") ## **Reef Safe Sunscreen** Many popular sunscreen brands contain ingredients that have been found to harm coral and other wildlife. There are however plenty of reef safe brands available on the market that are safe to use.’Reef safe’ labels can sometimes be misleading, so it’s best to check that non-nano zinc oxide or non-nano titanium dioxide are the active ingredient. Brands like [Stream2Sea](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Stream2Sea&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8) are a great choice. ![Remove background project-7](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Remove-background-project-7-300x300.jpg "Remove background project-7") **Rash Guard** Spending a few hours in the water every day means you’ll be getting plenty of sun. While sunscreen is always a good idea, covering up is also important. In warm tropical waters, a wetsuit can feel a bit much for some so a rash guard is a perfect, lightweight alternative. It keeps you cool, comfortable, and protected both in and out of the water. Get geared up with a [Snorkel Venture rash guard](https://snorkelventure.com/rash-guard-program/), the perfect versatile, 50+ UV protection outfit. You can find them for sale on our website, where every penny goes to our charity partners. ![ChatGPT Image Mar 18, 2026 at 03_15_33 PM-2](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/ChatGPT-Image-Mar-18-2026-at-03_15_33-PM-2-scaled-300x300.jpg "ChatGPT Image Mar 18, 2026 at 03_15_33 PM-2") ## **Refillable Water Bottle** Using a refillable water bottle is an easy way to reduce plastic waste whilst on tour and in your every day. Most resorts and livaboards will have water refill stations. ![download-2026-03-18T19_35_24](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/download-2026-03-18T19_35_24-300x300.jpg "download-2026-03-18T19_35_24") ## **Biodegradable Products** Using shower products with natural or biodegradable ingredients can be much kinder on the environment. The [Stream2Sea](https://www.google.com/search?client=safari&rls=en&q=Stream2Sea&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8) website has a great selection of environmentally friendly products. **In The Water** ![P1070422](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/P1070422-scaled-300x300.jpg "P1070422") ## **Keep a Good Distance From the Coral** When snorkeling in shallow waters, stay horizontal and be mindful of your fins. Never stand on the reef—if you need a break, float on your back or bring a float along. Avoid ever touching the coral, as it can harm these delicate creatures and sometimes give you a nasty sting! ![Maldives Manta Expedition Product Image](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Maldives-Manta-Expedition-Product-Image-300x300.jpg "Maldives Manta Expedition Product Image") **Snorkeling With Megafauna (the BIG stuff)** A good rule when snorkeling with manta rays, whales, or whale sharks is to let them come to you. Stay calm and move slowly, this helps them feel comfortable, and they might even swim closer out of curiosity. If you find yourself face-to-face with a whale shark or manta ray, gently back away, keeping at least 9 feet distance. With whales, give them a little extra space—about 16 feet. ![P2088401](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/P2088401-scaled-300x300.jpg "P2088401") ## **Snorkeling With Critters** Some of the most exciting things to see in the water are the weird and wonderful critters. These guys are often only a few inches long and can be hard to spot so staying calm and steady in the water really helps. A gentle duck dive and hovering just above is the best way to get a closer look. Be mindful not to touch or disturb them—avoid kicking up sand or debris around their homes. For photos, natural light is best, and at night, try shining your light beside them rather than directly into their eyes. ![Coral Eye Featured Image](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Coral-Eye-Featured-Image-300x300.jpg "Coral Eye Featured Image") **Citizen Science** Citizen science is a great way to help conserve the places you visit. There are many simple surveys any snorkeler can take part in to support valuable research. - **Coral surveys:** Check out the [Coral Watch](https://coralwatch.org) website and learn to conduct coral health surveys. - **Nudibranch surveys:** Upload your nudibranch images to[ iNaturalist.](https://www.inaturalist.org) - **Megafauna sightings:** Upload photos of [manta rays,](https://www.mantatrust.org/mantabase) [whale sharks,](https://www.sharkguardian.org/whale-shark-research) and [whales](https://happywhale.com/home) to their corresponding databases and help scientists track their movements. - **[Ocean Eye](https://oceaneye.io):** A great app where you can log sightings and support conservation directly. Look up local citizen science projects in the areas you visit or ask us for more information. ## **Our Commitment to Sustainability** ![Screenshot](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Misool-Foundation_Coral-Gardening-300x300.jpg "Screenshot") **We Choose Sustainable Operators** We prioritize partnering with companies that share our commitment to sustainability. The resorts and liveaboards we visit strive to minimize their environmental impact and often run their own conservation initiatives. Take Misool Resort, for example which is built entirely from repurposed materials and operating off-grid with green energy wherever possible. ![Snorkel for Good Logo_Small Square](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Snorkel-for-Good-Logo_Small-Square-600x600.jpg "Snorkel for Good Logo_Small Square") **Charity Partners** Through our Snorkel for Good program we fundraise and donate funds to selected charity organizations. We champion organizations dedicated to protecting threatened species and fragile ecosystems, while partnering with local communities to foster conservation education and sustainable livelihoods. To find out more and get involved visit our [Snorkel for Good webpage!](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![P1588127](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/08/P1588127-300x300.jpg "P1588127") **Our No Touch Policy** Before jumping in we brief all of our guests on how to act responsibly in the water. Snorkeling is a wonderful opportunity to witness animals in the wild, exhibiting natural behaviors and going about their daily lives. Whilst we often are lucky enough to come in very close proximity to these animals we go by a no touch, no harassment policy. The means we never touch anything in the water, no matter how big or small. We also do not harass wildlife by never chasing after animals that swim by. ![P1026899](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/P1026899-scaled-300x300.jpg "P1026899") **Small Groups** We keep our tour groups small by committing to just 750 snorkelers a year. This creates a friendly, personal experience and reduces our environmental impact. --- ### [No Trash Triangle Initiative](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/no-trash-triangle-initiative/) **Published:** July 1, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** The No Trash Triangle Initiative (NTTI) is a charity based in North Sulawesi, Indonesia, dedicated to combating plastic pollution in the Coral Triangle. Across Indonesia, limited waste management infrastructure means that much of the country’s waste is either not collected or not disposed of properly. As a result, plastic often leaks into the environment, eventually making its way into rivers and the ocean. This issue becomes particularly visible during periods of heavy rainfall, when waste is washed from streets into waterways and carried out to sea. Once in the marine environment, plastic pollution poses a serious threat to wildlife through ingestion, entanglement, and the release of harmful toxins. These impacts endanger marine ecosystems that are vital to both biodiversity and local communities who stand to lose food security and their livelihood. **NTTI is tackling this challenge from every angle. Through a combination of waste interception and management, community engagement, education and research their passionate and determined team prevents tonnes of plastic waste from entering the ocean every day.** ![Workers collect plastic waste from a polluted river on a makeshift raft beside concrete riverbanks and urban buildings.](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-09-at-13.44.14-600x350.jpeg "WhatsApp Image 2026-05-09 at 13.44.14") ## River Barriers NTTI has placed hundreds of meters of barriers in the largest rivers of Manado City. These barriers literally block the flow of plastic, and each day the NTTI team climbs into the river to collect it, intercepting tonnes of plastic before it reaches the ocean. The plastic is then transported to their sorting stations and transferred to recycling centers to be processed correctly. ![Stacks of dirty striped burlap sacks filled with material, labeled signs hanging on a wooden beam](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/WhatsApp-Image-2026-05-09-at-13.52.51-600x350.jpeg "WhatsApp Image 2026-05-09 at 13.52.51") ## Waste Management The team also collects, sorts, and removes waste from Bangka and the surrounding islands, where waste removal infrastructure is limited, while simultaneously organizing beach clean-ups that remove plastic that has already made its way into the environment. ![Group of kids on a wooden dock by clear water, wearing snorkels and swimwear, posing for a photo under a blue sky.](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/NTTI_SchoolOnTheBeach_Corallesson.jpeg-600x350.webp "NTTI_School+On+The+Beach_Coral+lesson.jpeg") ## **Education** NTTI knows that any long-term solution must start with integrated approaches that include education. They have started a program called *School on the Beach*, which takes local children out of the classroom and into nature, where they can experience and learn about the fragility and importance of the marine ecosystem. This program has been extremely successful and is sparking long-lasting change within the community. **Through your donations, NTTI can continue to expand its efforts to keep the Coral Triangle, its marine life, and its communities safe from the effects of plastic pollution.** --- ### [Classroom Of Hope](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/classroom-of-hope/) **Published:** March 3, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** Plastic pollution is one of the most significant environmental challenges we face today. **Each year, an estimated 19–23 million tonnes of plastic waste leak into our rivers, lakes, and oceans.** In many countries, this problem is largely hidden from everyday life, as waste management systems collect household rubbish and transport it to landfill or, ideally, recycling facilities. In Indonesia, however, these systems are often unavailable to everyday households. As a result, plastic pollution is highly visible throughout the environment. After heavy rainfall, plastic waste is washed from streets into rivers and eventually carried out to sea. Classroom of Hope is putting this plastic to use, tackling two issues with one solution. Since 2012, Classroom of Hope has been dedicated to giving children access to quality education and safe learning spaces. After the devastating 2018 earthquakes in Lombok, Indonesia, which destroyed over 400 schools, they stepped in to help rebuild. Using recycled materials, they transform plastic waste into earthquake-resistant classrooms that provide students with safe learning environments to grow and thrive. **To date, in Lombok, they have constructed 44 Block Schools with 163 classrooms, recycled over 230 tonnes of plastic, and supported nearly 8,000 students.** ## From plastic pollution ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Plastic-waste-on-Bunaken-Island-Sulawesi-1-1800x1200-1-1-1024x683.webp "Plastic-waste-on-Bunaken-Island-Sulawesi-1-1800x1200-1 | Snorkel Venture") ## To earthquake proof schools [![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Classroom-of-Hope_Blocks_4x3-1024x683.jpg "Classroom of Hope_Blocks_4x3 | Snorkel Venture")](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Classroom-of-Hope_Blocks_4x3-1024x683.jpg) Classroom of Hope programs go beyond building schools. **Developed through extensive community consultations, their community enrichment programs address local priorities such as waste management, child protection, early marriage prevention, and English skills.** These programs engage teachers, parents, and students, strengthen local resources, and are designed for long-term impact. By working closely with the community and local government, COH builds a foundation for sustainable change, ensuring that the benefits of their initiatives continue to support children and families for years to come. ## Building a block school in just 7 days [Visit Classroom of Hope’s website](https://classroomofhope.org) to read more about their life changing work! --- ### [Manta Trust](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/manta-trust/) **Published:** March 3, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** ## **The Manta Trust Mission** Manta Trust is a charity dedicated to the safeguarding of Manta and Devil Rays worldwide. This group of rays, known collectively as mobulid rays, consists of 10 species, found in oceans across the globe. **Every one of these species is threatened by human impact, thus Manta trust’s intervention is fundamental to their survival.** Manta and devil rays are primarily threatened by the fishing industry. Their gill plates are of high value in the Traditional Chinese Medicine market, which results in approximately 265,000 mobulid rays losing their lives to fishing activities every year. ## **A Monumental Achievement** In December 2025, Manta Trust achieved a landmark victory at CITES (the Convention on International Trade of Endangered Species). **Years of dedication and advocacy culminated in mobulid rays receiving the strongest level of international protection, making it illegal to harvest or trade manta and devil rays, or any products derived from them.** Although this is a huge leap forward, Manta Trust still has plenty of work ahead, making sure that this international legislation is put into action. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Team-Headshots_Azores_2025_Jasmine-Corbett-17-1024x683.jpg "Team Headshots_Azores_2025_Jasmine Corbett-17 | Snorkel Venture") ## **Collaboration Is Key** At the heart of Manta Trust’s mission is a belief in collaborative conservation. Because most mobulid rays are highly migratory, their protection depends on global cooperation. **To meet this challenge, Manta Trust has built a network of 29 affiliate projects spanning the world.** From education and scientific research to community based initiatives, each project plays a vital role in a shared effort to protect the rays—ensuring that manta and devil rays continue to glide through our oceans for generations to come. ## Education ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Community-Outreach-Santa-Maria_Anjos-Santa-Maria-Azores_2025_Catarina-Fazenda-OMA_99-1024x683.jpg "Community Outreach Santa Maria_Anjos, Santa Maria, Azores_2025_Catarina Fazenda (OMA)_99 | Snorkel Venture") ## Research ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Sicklefin-Devil-Rays-Mobula-tarapacana_Ambrosio-Santa-Maria-Azores_2025_Leila-Scheltema-20-1024x684.jpg "Sicklefin Devil Rays (Mobula tarapacana)_Ambrosio, Santa Maria, Azores_2025_Leila Scheltema-20 | Snorkel Venture") ## Advocacy ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Finisterre-and-Oceanographic-Rays-of-Hope-World-Manta-Day-Event_London-UK_2025_Pedro-Furtado-28-1024x683.jpg "Finisterre and Oceanographic Rays of Hope World Manta Day Event_London, UK_2025_Pedro Furtado-28 | Snorkel Venture") [Visit Manta Trust’s website](https://thriveconservation.org) to find out more about their work and how you can get involved! --- ### [Thrive Conservation](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/thrive-conservation/) **Published:** March 3, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** Thrive Conservation is an Indonesia-based charity with education at the heart of its mission. **Indonesia is home to the Coral Triangle, the most biodiverse reef system on Earth.** Beyond its reefs, the country also supports an extraordinary range of ecosystems, including mangroves, seagrass meadows, estuarine habitats, peat swamps, and rainforests—all of which sustain thousands of species. Indonesia’s vast geography, made up of hundreds of remote islands, presents unique challenges. Many of these communities are difficult to access, and each faces its own distinct socioeconomic pressures while relying heavily on the surrounding natural environment for survival. **Thrive Conservation recognises the urgent need for conservation initiatives across Indonesia, while also identifying a critical gap in environmental education and access to sustainable livelihood opportunities within these communities.** People living closest to these fragile ecosystems are often those with the fewest resources to protect them. In response, Thrive works directly with remote communities through education programs they support young Indonesians to address overlooked environmental issues on land and in the ocean. These young leaders work together with local communities and decision-makers to solve conservation problems. **By empowering people with knowledge, skills, and sustainable opportunities, Thrive seeks to bridge the divide between human survival and environmental degradation.** **Through this human-centred approach, Thrive Conservation envisions an Indonesia where people and nature coexist in balance—both thriving, together. [Visit Thrive’s website to find out more! ](https://thriveconservation.org)** --- ### [Misool Foundation](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/misool-foundation/) **Published:** March 3, 2026 **Author:** Lydia Vavoula **Content:** Misool Foundation is the charitable arm of Misool Resort, an eco-resort often visited on tours with Snorkel Venture. In 2005, the foundation leased 100,000 acres of sea from the local community in South Raja Ampat. At the heart of this area was an island that, at the time, was home to a shark finning camp, contributing to the highly destructive international shark fining trade. **Misool Resort was built on the island, replacing the shark finning industry and creating sustainable job opportunities for local communities.** Constructed entirely from reclaimed wood using eco-friendly practices, the resort now funds the foundation, which works to protect the marine ecosystem of Raja Ampat. The foundation takes a holistic approach to conservation, integrating environmental, social, and educational initiatives into its programs. One of Misool Foundation’s huge achievements is the creation of a 300,000 acre marine reserve with a strict no take policy, patrolled by local rangers. Since the establishment of the marine reserve, nature has had time to bounce back. **Biodiversity and abundance surveys conducted in the area have found a biomass increase of 248% from 2007 to 2021, including a 190% increase of sharks.** [Visit Misool Foundation’s website](https://www.misoolfoundation.org) to find out more about their impactful work! --- ### [Tips on Being a Responsible Snorkeler](https://snorkelventure.com/tips-on-being-a-responsible-snorkeler/) **Published:** August 25, 2026 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** ![Infographic titled 'Tips on Being a Responsible Snorkeler' with a two-column checklist of tips and blue checkboxes on a light panel. Logos at bottom. A photo of snorkelers attached. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/08/Screenshot-2026-08-25-at-131008.png) --- ### [Reviews](https://snorkelventure.com/reviews/) **Published:** September 25, 2020 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** **Tim (US)** has just returned from our Komodo 2019 adventure. ‘I just wanted to send you a special note of appreciation for our incredible experience which would not have been possible without Crystal, you are so fortunate to have her on your staff!! From the day we landed Crystal’s form of positive energy, sense of humor and subtle caring and support made this trip by far and away my most enjoyable experience , perhaps in my life.By allowing me to do what I was capable of without pandring or coaxing and always with that infectious smile, as well as not pushing when I needed to come in early or take a session off was exceptional. She also laughed at my jokes!!! Thank you so much for a most enjoyable experience’. **Sue (US)** has just returned from our Alor & Komodo 2019 adventure. She said ‘Great trip, and great tour leader, who seemed to genuinely work to make our visit the best it could be. Highly recommend both the sites (Alor and Komodo) and this tour company’. **Paula (US)** had this to say about her recent experience with Snorkel Venture. ‘Wonderful small group experience that go to great snorkeling sites. Good communication during booking, experienced guides, lovely accommodations, great food’. **Carol from the US** had this to say ‘Awesome trip with fantastic snorkeling to pristine reefs’. ‘Just finished a well run trip to great locations, Alor and Komodo. Skilled trip leader, Alex, who was also a great photographer, happily shared his photography expertise. All pre-trip communication was easy and fast. All in all a super experience’. Thank you to **Steve (US).** Thank you to **Paulanne (US)** who had this to say: ‘This was my first trip to Indonesia. I’ve snorkeled in the the Caribbean, Galapagos, off San Diego, and Hawaii. Indonesia is stunning by comparison. This trip was led by the most wonderful people, Ben Stokes and Bernita Lewin, both experienced in diving in Indonesia, who picked beautiful spots for us on the recent trip to Alor and Komodo. Three+ snorkels per day, different reefs every trip left us wanting more, and the chance to go back to ones we’d visited. House reefs in both resorts were indeed stunning as claimed. Their thoughtfulness in selection of accommodations, transfers is commendable: both resorts, in terms of rooms, food, and services were excellent: featuring outdoor bathrooms, and closed, air-conditioned comfortable bedrooms for sleeping. Alor: food was excellent, family style, fresh, and Komodo menu selections all very tasty and fresh. Our inter-island flights went smoothly, despite last minute changes by the airlines. Boats for snorkeling used in both resorts were excellent, with in and out access affected mostly by conditions of wind and current..which were carefully monitored by team leaders, all of whom were locals, who knew the areas well, and who assisted with identifying unusual coral, animals, and helped with our underwater cameras and picture taking. Alami Alor even featured a ‘dry room,’ for photographers, and both resort boats offered clean, clear water for de-salt soaks for our cameras. I almost hesitate to share how wonderful this trip was, in every way, because they are small (14 in our group) and fill early. Treat yourself to a trip of your lifetime..you will be amazed at the diversity of life in the reefs, as led by such a thoughtful group of people’. **Sherri from the US** ‘Thanks for the great time in Alor and Komodo!!’. Thank you to **Carol (US)** who said ‘Awesome trip with fantastic snorkeling to pristine reefs’. **Mr and Mrs M (AUS)** have just travelled with us to Indonesia. Here is what they have to say: ‘Jill and I have just returned from Alor and Komodo last Sunday we had a fabulous trip and can only speak so highly of the places and people. Plus the enormous effort that Alex did caring and ensuring everyone was safe and well. You have a great asset in this young man. We are recommending your Company to other Aussie snorkeling friends and reviewing other trips especially to Raja Ampat.’ Many thanks to them. **Collette R (US)** has just returned from a trip with us. Here is what she had to say: ‘Very well organized. Alex, our tour leader, was very personable, attentive, and shared his love and knowledge of the ocean with us. Our group was very fun to be with and it has been an awesome experience!’. **Jacqui B (US):** ‘We had a GREAT experience visiting Alor and Komodo with Snorkel Venture. Everything was wonderful! The beauty of the reefs, walls, and fish was unimaginable. Both lodges were wonderful and the food was delicious. Organization was superb. Our tour guide Alex did a wonderful job in keeping us all organized and in taking beautiful photos and video. I would definitely travel again with Snorkel Venture.’ **Jilly and Steve (Aus):** ‘Thanks Snorkel Venture. It was a unbelievable trip from all aspects a very professional well run holiday apart from excellent staff at the resorts and safe and beautiful dive spots. Alex is a tremendous asset and nothing was too much trouble very caring and understanding . Have highly recommended this trip to others, keep up the excellent work.’ **Anna C (US):** ‘Our whole Indonesia experience was fabulous! It included 6 nights in Ubud, where we did several one day trips which organized by Wakatobi/Bali, a week in Wakatobi, and two final nights in Jimbarin. Thank you for recommending Jimbarin to us. We loved our hotel, the Belmond, there on the beach. The whole Wakatobi experience was marvelous. What a great resort. They took care of us well, and it really was luxury in paradise. Alex did a good job, although the Wakatobi staff is pretty much in charge there on the island, as well as at the airport. The dive guides and boat experience was exceptional. Some of us had ant problems in our bungalows, but the bungalows themselves were well thought out and comfortable. Meals were a highlight, both in setting and variety of foods, along with all the special orders we could request’. **Sarah M (US):** ‘I would like to thank you for my excellent snorkelling holiday to Sulawesi and Raja Ampat. I had a really great time, and Maggie must rate as one of the best group leaders I have ever travelled with. I would have no hesitation in recommending your company to friends and family, and I hope to travel with you again in the future’. **Stuart and Kay H (US):** ‘The trip was fantastic and would definitely highly recommend it. We are not on Facebook but will be happy to share our photos on Google drive. Duxy was really great – he managed us all very well and gave lots of great advice on photography and identifying the marine life. The tour was very well organized and we appreciated being in a small group. The accommodation was also excellent. The mix of snorkelling and culture was very balanced and the snorkelling sites were excellent. Would have loved to spend an exra day in Ubud as we arrived there late at night and had to leave 6 am next day to catch our flight to Labuan Baja. We have a holiday organized next year but will be very interested in future trips with you.’ **Sarah (UK):** ‘Maggie – It all seems so much longer ago than 2 weeks since we were enjoying the sun and the warm waters of Indonesia when back in the cold and wet of a UK winter. I would like to thank you again for making a lovely holiday so fantastic, and partially thanks to you, I have some nice piccies to remind me of the trip. You were great company and I really appreciate how hard you worked for us all. I will certainly go on another holiday with Snorkel Venture in the future, and it would be the icing on the cake if you were the leader again – I can’t imagine a better one. many thanks and best wishes’. **Lisa (US)** said ‘They have the whole package down! Well planned, great locations, knowledgable staff and guides at the lodges. Wrap that up with such nice people who take such good care of you. Don’t hesitate one moment to book and travel with them. You will be so pleased you did! Thanks to the whole team for a great trip’. **Joanne (US)** said ‘This is a very professional company that has fantastic resorts and tour leaders. The snorkelling areas are full of life with great coral. It is like being dropped into a well stocked aquarium. They cater for all abilities of snorkelling too’ Thanks to **Marianne (US)** who said ‘Wonderfull trip to Alor and Komodo. Small group, all snorklers. Very well organized. Our tour leader Bernita did a great job’. **Jane from the US** summarised her trip with us beautifully: ‘We had the MOST INCREDIBLE holiday. There was not one single aspect of it that was anything less than perfect. Snorkel Venture made our holiday what it was, superb. I want to say a massive thank you to you for all your help and suggestions with itinerary, destination suggestions and hotel recommendations. Your customer service is wonderful. I would never have been able to organise things as well as you did. Siladen was an absolute gem of a place. we had a ball there. Our every whim was taken care of. Laura was able to fulfil several of her bucket list dreams, seeing dolphins,watching hatching and releasing of baby turtles. Swimming with turtles and swimming with eagle rays! It was a dream destination, and all thanks to you. Our hotel on the way out was also bang on the money, another one of your suggestions. Then there was Sumatra! OMG, you said it was a more authentic orang-utan experience, and oh boy was it. There are no words to describe how blown away we were. How about magical! We had a wonderful guide who took us totally off road. Fortunately im fairly fit cos it was pretty hard core trekking!! The orangutang encounters were breathtaking. Singapore on the way home was a blast. I would highly recommend the hotel “Yotel” on Orchard road. An unbeatable location and incredible value for money I thought. So, I just want to say “thank you” for helping me make precious memories for Laura’s 21st birthday. You did an outstanding job and I would recommend Snorkel Venture in a heartbeat. I would not hesitate in using you again, not sure if the budget could be quite so extravagant next time !!! I hope your business is withstanding the Brexit rubbish and you continue to be successful as you so deserve to do well’. Kind words from **Peter (UK)** who has this to say: ‘Trip of a life time! We decided to venture over to Bali for our honeymoon, and the DSA team blew us away with such an incredible trip. After a couple of conversations where we discussed what kind of holiday we would like and things we enjoyed doing, they absolutely nailed it. Organising and planning everything, from our stunning accommodation to the transfers in between. The locations Ben and Charlie chose were very varied, offering a wonderful insight into the Balinese culture, beautiful scenery, kind people, and awesome wildlife. Each location was equally as luxurious as the next, and the service provided throughout by the team at home and the local partners were just fantastic. It was a trip full of adventure, rest, culture, delicious food and hand crafted wooden artefacts! We initially stayed in the DeKlumpu resort, which was a fantastic immersion into Balineese culture with some fantastic local massages and trips run by Rocky. He ran great mountain biking trips, coffee tours and a traditional cooking class. We then headed to Permuteran and stayed at the luxurious and very restful Menjangan safari resort where we enjoyed fantastic snorkelling and beautiful pool side views, certainly giving us time to rest and enjoy the facilities. From there we headed on to Ubud for a bit of local craft, waterfalls and rice fields. Our final stretch took us to Java and a three day temple tour, highlighted by our stay at Plantaran Borobudur Resort and Spa, where we enjoyed watching the sunrise over Borobudur, one of the wonders of the world. We couldn’t recommend going with these guys higher. Such fantastic customer service, expert knowledge and recommendations in creating a great experience both in prep and trip’. **Kay and Stuart (US):** ‘Sorry to hear of your infection and hope you are fully recovered. We managed to stay healthy and the week at Candidasa allowed us to totally relax. It was a great trip and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The group was small enough that we were able to function as one group, rather than several groups. I have been going through some photos and videos and there are some very good ones. I have managed to extract single frames from the 4k video and these are around 8MB. Markus got some great footage of the 3 mantas using the Sony 4k video which I can share when I figure out how! Both Kay and I thought you did a fantastic job in guiding us. Not just the day to day stuff, but socially interacting, giving us pointers on photo techniques, helping us see things we would have missed and helping identify some of the fish we happened to photograph. As this was our first guided tour, we approached it with a little apprehension not knowing what to expect and thinking the other group members were going to be much younger and fitter and with more experience. We felt confident after a couple of days that we fit in well and held our own. Yourself and the boat crew, especially at Komodo Resort, helped the inexperienced, gave them confidence and am sure made their trip so special. While I cannot speak for the rest, I feel confident from discussions that you were the catalyst that made the trip special. You started out as a guide but ended up being a true friend. Both Kay and I wish to thank you so much, and again the door is open to you if you ever get to Australia. We would love to show you around. Please use any comments on your social media that can assist. Best wishes Kay and Stuart Ps We haven’t received any feedback requests from Ben as yet. However, we felt the tour was spot on. It had the right mix of culture, tripping and snorkeling. The places we visited were special, especially De Klumpu. It was a pity we couldn’t see more of Ubud… maybe the trip in future should be 15 days instead of 14. The food and accommodation was first class. The only thing I would change is the snorkeling duration at Menjengan Island reducing the 90 minute snorkeling time to one hour. Same as what we did from the Komodo Resort. Have three one hour sessions instead of two 90 minute ones.’ **Christine S (US):** ‘Duxy, I have taken a fair number of international trips. You truly are at the very top of my guide list. This is evidenced by my returning on a trip with you as a guide next summer. I especially appreciated your vast knowledge of marine life and your constant enthusiasm to show us all this marine activity. Thank you for constantly being available to all participants for any questions or trouble shooting. Your photography expertise was a wonderful bonus for this trip. You even made me interested!—I am so NOT a photographer but I really had fun taking the timed shoot and the “spliced” panoramic.’ **James, W (US):** ‘Our biggest benefit was having Bernita. Wow!!!! She was extremely competent and caring. She was always one step ahead and was extremely helpful. And I was amazed how much she had to do…….from taking one person to the clinic for an IV to all of the plane schedule changes and other issues. She was worth her weight in gold as they say’. **Judy, A (US):** ‘Crystal was an incredible trip leader- organized, helpful, friendly, caring, happy, useful, knowledgeable and efficient! I would travel with her again’. **Julie, S (US):** ‘Benita as tour leader: Amazing! I help take college students down to Baja Calif so have experience leading a group. It can be very tiring, but Benita was consistently available and eager to help and solve issues. It is interesting to note the differences between our group and college students. College students, in general, don’t seem to care about details. Our group, myself included, fell into the habit of asking her numerous questions. She very patiently put up with all of this. She was knowledgeable, very capable, friendly and approachable. I loved her sense of humor and her enthusiasm for marine life. Absolutely no suggestions for improvement. She is a gem’. **Donna, J (US):** ‘I am sorry for the delayed response but so happy to receive your reply! I feel like a weight has been lifted off of me. I am very pleased with your handling of this and very appreciative!! Covid is really increasing in the US but I am encouraged about the new vaccines we are hearing about. Hopefully we’ll be able to do some travel towards the middle part of 2021( fingers crossed). Again, THANK YOU SO MUCH!’ --- ### [2019 in Video](https://snorkelventure.com/tour-videos/) **Published:** September 21, 2020 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** ## **Check out the 2019 Playlist** Our videographer Alex has created this awesome playlist of our 2019 adventures, there are 4 videos to play. All footage is filmed on tours or on tour research. Click the forward button in the bottom right corner to see the next video. --- ### [Snorkel for Good](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/) **Published:** February 2, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Content:** Our planet is a finely balanced system, every organism, ecosystem, and process intricately connected, each essential to the whole. As humans, we are not separate from this system; we are part of it, and our choices have impact. As a travel company, we recognize our environmental footprint. However, we also know that sustainable tourism done right can be a part of the solution. **We believe we have a responsibility to protect, conserve, and advocate for the places we explore. That belief is the foundation of Snorkel For Good.** Through Snorkel For Good, we donate annual funds to selected charity organizations. We support organizations that focus on protecting threatened species and ecosystems alongside working closely with local communities to facilitate conservation education and sustainable livelihoods. Thus creating long-term, integrated solutions that support both people and planet, building a more sustainable future for all. **Every Trip Program** Every Snorkel Venture tour makes a difference. For each trip booked, we donate **$100 USD** to one of our charity partners, turning every adventure into direct action. **In 2025 alone we were able to donate 57,500 USD towards protecting the places we visit.** That means every guest can travel knowing that simply by booking their holiday, they’re actively supporting the protection of the ecosystems, wildlife, and communities they experience along the way. ## **Introducing our Charity Partners** ## **Manta Trust** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Atlantic-Manta-Ray-Mobula-yarae_Isla-Mujeres-Quintana-Roo-Mexico_2019_Guy-Stevens_5-1024x681.jpg "Atlantic Manta Ray, Mobula yarae_Isla Mujeres, Quintana Roo, Mexico_2019_Guy Stevens_5 | Snorkel Venture") [![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Manta-Trust-Logo_4x3-1024x683.jpg "Manta Trust Logo_4x3 | Snorkel Venture")](https://snorkelventure.com/?page_id=36181&preview=true) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/Team-Headshots_Azores_2025_Jasmine-Corbett-17-1024x683.jpg "Team Headshots_Azores_2025_Jasmine Corbett-17 | Snorkel Venture") **A charity dedicated to safeguarding Manta and Devil Rays worldwide, through research, education and collaborative conservation. Manta Trust strives for a future where mobulid ray populations are no longer threatened by extinction.** ## **Thrive Conservation** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Mangrove-Planting_Thrive_4x3-1024x683.jpg "Mangrove Planting_Thrive_4x3 | Snorkel Venture") [![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Thrive-Conservation-Logo_4x3-1024x683.jpg "Thrive Conservation Logo_4x3 | Snorkel Venture")](https://snorkelventure.com/?page_id=36210&preview=true) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/6.-Intern-Working-on-Anaconda-Muntaz-1024x678.jpg "6. Intern Working on Anaconda - Muntaz | Snorkel Venture") **Thrive Conservation is a charity based in Indonesia, that focuses on the next generation as the key stakeholders in the future of the planet. They do this by empowering young Indonesians to address overlooked environmental issues on land and in the ocean.** ## Misool Foundation ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Baby-Shark-Project_Misool-Foundation-1024x683.jpg "Screenshot | Snorkel Venture") [![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Misool-Foundation-Logo_6x4-1024x683.jpg "Screenshot | Snorkel Venture")](https://snorkelventure.com/?page_id=36221&preview=true) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Misool-Foundation_Coral-Gardening-1024x683.jpg "Screenshot | Snorkel Venture") **The Misool Foundation has transformed what was once a shark-finning camp into a 300,000-acre marine reserve at the heart of Raja Ampat, where biomass has increased by 248% since its establishment in 2007.** ## Classroom of Hope ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Classroom-of-Hope_Blocks_4x3-1024x683.jpg "Classroom of Hope_Blocks_4x3 | Snorkel Venture") [![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/Classroom-of-Hope_Logo_4x3-1024x683.jpg "Classroom of Hope_Logo_4x3 | Snorkel Venture")](https://snorkelventure.com/?page_id=36238&preview=true) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/P1050649-copy-3-1024x693.jpg "P1050649 copy | Snorkel Venture") **Classroom of Hope uses an innovative method to rebuild earthquake affected schools on Lombok island, Indonesia. They build the schools using repurposed plastic waste, compressed into lego like bricks.** ## No Trash Triangle Initiative ![Group of children in snorkeling gear and life jackets pose on a wooden dock over clear water, smiling for the camera at a beach area.](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/NTTI_SchoolOnTheBeach_Corallesson.jpeg-525x525.webp "NTTI_School+On+The+Beach_Coral+lesson.jpeg") [![Circular coral logo featuring a stylized tree in the center with curved text around the edge reading 'Not-Trash' (brand mark).](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/Screenshot-2026-07-01-at-11.04.16-525x525.png "Screenshot 2026-07-01 at 11.04.16")](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/no-trash-triangle-initiative/) ![DCIM101MEDIADJI_0222.JPG](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/DJI_0222-scaled-e1782873939240-525x525.jpg "DCIM101MEDIADJI_0222.JPG") **No Trash Triangle Initiative are dedicate to cleaning up the coral triangle by providing integrated waste management solutions and education programs.** **Rash Guard Program** Help us meet our goal of donating 20,000 USD to the Misool Foundation via our rash guard program. **It’s pretty simple, purchase one of our personalized Snorkel for Good-Fourth Element Hydro-T rash guards and 50% of the funds raised go straight to Misool Foundation**. Our rash guards are made of reclaimed ghost nets, provide 50+ UV protection and dry quickly once out of the water, making them the perfect versatile outfit whilst on tour. [Click here](https://snorkelventure.com/rashguard-order-form/) to purchase your rash guard and help support the Misool Foundation! [![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/02/P1019074-1024x683.jpg "P1019074 | Snorkel Venture")](https://snorkelventure.com/rashguard-order-form/) --- ### [Disclaimer](https://snorkelventure.com/disclaimer/) **Published:** July 15, 2026 **Author:** Web Admin **Content:** Benjamin Stokes is committed to keeping this website up to date and accurate. Should you nevertheless encounter anything that is incorrect or out of date, we would appreciate it if you could let us know. Please indicate where on the website you read the information. We will then look at this as soon as possible. Please send your response by email to: hello@ex.comsnorkelventure.com. We are not liable for loss as a result of inaccuracies or incompleteness, nor for loss resulting from problems caused by or inherent to the dissemination of information through the internet, such as disruptions or interruptions. When using web forms, we strive to limit the number of required fields to a minimum. For any loss suffered as a result of the use of data, advice or ideas provided by or on behalf of Benjamin Stokes via this website, Benjamin Stokes accepts no liability. Responses and privacy inquiries submitted by email or using a web form will be treated in the same way as letters. This means that you can expect a response from us within a period of 1 month at the latest. In the case of complex requests, we will let you know within 1 month if we need a maximum of 3 months. Any personal data you provide us with in the context of your response or request for information will only be used in accordance with our privacy statement. Benjamin Stokes shall make every reasonable effort to protect its systems against any form of unlawful use. Benjamin Stokes shall implement appropriate technical and organisational measures to this end, taking into account, among other things, the state of the art. However, it shall not be liable for any loss whatsoever, direct and/or indirect, suffered by a user of the website, which arises as a result of the unlawful use of its systems by a third party. Benjamin Stokes accepts no responsibility for the content of websites to which or from which a hyperlink or other reference is made. Products or services offered by third parties shall be subject to the applicable terms and conditions of those third parties. All intellectual property rights to content on this website are vested in Benjamin Stokes or in third parties who have placed the content themselves or from whom Benjamin Stokes has obtained a user licence. Copying, disseminating and any other use of these materials is not permitted without the written permission of Benjamin Stokes, except and only insofar as otherwise stipulated in regulations of mandatory law (such as the right to quote), unless specific content dictates otherwise. If you have any questions or problems with the accessibility of the website, please do not hesitate to contact us. --- ### [Cookie Policy (UK)](https://snorkelventure.com/cookie-policy-uk/) **Published:** July 15, 2026 **Author:** Web Admin **Content:** *This Cookie Policy was last updated on 29 July 2026 and applies to citizens and legal permanent residents of the United Kingdom.* ## 1. Introduction Our website, <https://snorkelventure.com> (hereinafter: “the website”) uses cookies and other related technologies (for convenience all technologies are referred to as “cookies”). Cookies are also placed by third parties we have engaged. In the document below we inform you about the use of cookies on our website. ## 2. What are cookies? A cookie is a small simple file that is sent along with pages of this website and stored by your browser on the hard drive of your computer or another device. The information stored therein may be returned to our servers or to the servers of the relevant third parties during a subsequent visit. ## 3. What are scripts? A script is a piece of program code that is used to make our website function properly and interactively. This code is executed on our server or on your device. ## 4. What is a web beacon? A web beacon (or a pixel tag) is a small, invisible piece of text or image on a website that is used to monitor traffic on a website. In order to do this, various data about you is stored using web beacons. ## 5. Cookies ### 5.1 Technical or functional cookies Some cookies ensure that certain parts of the website work properly and that your user preferences remain known. By placing functional cookies, we make it easier for you to visit our website. This way, you do not need to repeatedly enter the same information when visiting our website and, for example, the items remain in your shopping cart until you have paid. We may place these cookies without your consent. ### 5.2 Statistics cookies We use statistics cookies to optimize the website experience for our users. With these statistics cookies we get insights in the usage of our website. We ask your permission to place statistics cookies. ### 5.3 Marketing/Tracking cookies Marketing/Tracking cookies are cookies or any other form of local storage, used to create user profiles to display advertising or to track the user on this website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. ### 5.4 Social media On our website, we have included content from Facebook to promote web pages (e.g. “like”, “pin”) or share (e.g. “tweet”) on social networks like Facebook. This content is embedded with code derived from Facebook and places cookies. This content might store and process certain information for personalized advertising. Facebook are located in the United States. ## 6. Placed cookies ### WooCommerce Functional Consent to service woocommerce #### Usage We use WooCommerce for webshop management. [Read more about WooCommerce](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/woocommerce/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Functional ##### Name [wc\_cart\_hash\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/woocommerce/wc_cart_hash_/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store items in shopping cart ##### Name [wc\_fragments\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/woocommerce/wc_fragments_/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function ##### Name [woocommerce\_recently\_viewed](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/woocommerce/woocommerce_recently_viewed/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store performed actions on the website ### WordPress Functional Consent to service wordpress #### Usage We use WordPress for website development. [Read more about WordPress](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/wordpress/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Functional ##### Name [wordpress\_test\_cookie](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wordpress_test_cookie/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Read if cookies can be placed ##### Name [wp-settings-\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wp-settings/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store user preferences ##### Name [wp-settings-time-\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wp-settings-time/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store user preferences ##### Name [wordpress\_logged\_in\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wordpress_logged_in_/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store logged in users ##### Name [wp\_lang](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wp_lang/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store language settings ### Facebook Marketing, Functional Consent to service facebook #### Usage We use Facebook for display of recent social posts and/or social share buttons. [Read more about Facebook](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/facebook/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Facebook Privacy Statement](https://www.facebook.com/policy/cookies). #### Marketing ##### Name [\_fbp](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/_fbp/) ##### Expiration 3 months ##### Function Store and track visits across websites ##### Name [\_fbc](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/_fbc/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Store last visit ##### Name [fbm\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/fbm_/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store account details ##### Name [xs](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/xs/) ##### Expiration 3 months ##### Function Store a unique session ID ##### Name [fr](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/fr/) ##### Expiration 3 months ##### Function Provide ad delivery or retargeting ##### Name [act](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/act/) ##### Expiration 90 days ##### Function Store logged in users ##### Name [datr](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/datr/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Provide fraud prevention ##### Name [c\_user](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/c_user/) ##### Expiration 30 days ##### Function Store a unique user ID ##### Name [sb](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/sb/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Store browser details ##### Name [\*\_fbm\_](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/_fbm_/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store account details #### Functional ##### Name [wd](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/wd/) ##### Expiration 1 week ##### Function Read screen resolution ##### Name [csm](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/csm/) ##### Expiration 90 days ##### Function Provide fraud prevention ##### Name [actppresence](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/actppresence/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store and track if the browser tab is active ### Google Analytics Statistics Consent to service google-analytics #### Usage We use Google Analytics for website statistics. [Read more about Google Analytics](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-analytics/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Analytics Privacy Statement](https://business.safety.google/privacy/). #### Statistics ##### Name [\_ga](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_ga/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Store and count pageviews ##### Name [\_gid](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_gid/) ##### Expiration 1 day ##### Function Store and count pageviews ##### Name [\_gat\_gtag\_UA\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_gat_gtag_ua_-2/) ##### Expiration 1 minute ##### Function Store a unique user ID ##### Name [\_ga\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_ga_/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store and count pageviews ### Elementor Statistics (anonymous) Consent to service elementor #### Usage We use Elementor for content creation. [Read more about Elementor](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/elementor/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Statistics (anonymous) ##### Name [elementor](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/elementor/elementor/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store performed actions on the website ### Wistia Marketing Consent to service wistia #### Usage We use Wistia for video display. [Read more about Wistia](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/wistia/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Wistia Privacy Statement](https://wistia.com/privacy). #### Marketing ##### Name [wistia](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wistia/wistia/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store performed actions on the website ### OptinMonster Marketing Consent to service optinmonster #### Usage We use OptinMonster for mailing list subscriptions. [Read more about OptinMonster](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/optinmonster/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Marketing ##### Name [omWpApi](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/optinmonster/omwpapi/) ##### Expiration ##### Function ### Google Adsense Statistics, Marketing Consent to service google-adsense #### Usage We use Google Adsense for showing advertisements. [Read more about Google Adsense](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-adsense/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Adsense Privacy Statement](https://business.safety.google/privacy/). #### Statistics ##### Name [\_gcl\_ls](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-adsense/auto-draft-23/) ##### Expiration ##### Function Store and track interaction #### Marketing ##### Name [google\_adsense\_settings](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-adsense/google_adsense_settings/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Provide ad delivery or retargeting ### Google Fonts Marketing Consent to service google-fonts #### Usage We use Google Fonts for display of webfonts. [Read more about Google Fonts](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-fonts/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Fonts Privacy Statement](https://policies.google.com/privacy). #### Marketing ##### Name [Google Fonts API](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-fonts/tcb_google_fonts/) ##### Expiration expires immediately ##### Function Read user IP address ### Google Maps Marketing Consent to service google-maps #### Usage We use Google Maps for maps display. [Read more about Google Maps](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-maps/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Maps Privacy Statement](https://business.safety.google/privacy/). #### Marketing ##### Name [Google Maps API](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-maps/google-maps-api/) ##### Expiration expires immediately ##### Function Read user IP address ### YouTube Marketing Consent to service youtube #### Usage We use YouTube for video display. [Read more about YouTube](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/youtube/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [YouTube Privacy Statement](https://policies.google.com/privacy). #### Marketing ##### Name [GPS](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/gps/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store location data ##### Name [VISITOR\_INFO1\_LIVE](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/visitor_info1_live/) ##### Expiration 6 months ##### Function Provide ad delivery or retargeting ##### Name [YSC](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/ysc/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store and track interaction ##### Name [PREF](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/pref/) ##### Expiration 8 months ##### Function Store user preferences ### Miscellaneous Purpose pending investigation Consent to service miscellaneous #### Usage #### Sharing data Sharing of data is pending investigation #### Purpose pending investigation ##### Name 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##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::25d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::fc323a16525ff51 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name BT_AA_DETECTION ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name __gsas ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name pvisitor ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::930 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::f3eea4e7d5097d1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::e5a49488eae705f ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::859c640dd7aded6 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::3e244b5d137e3ba ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::c6d822c88137290 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _I_ ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::75e1b1dc2cd03de ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::52f540841b9bbd8 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::8a0 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::3e7051aafe03fe9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::e58273ffdf11cbb ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::93dae13d0547143 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::e58273ffdf11cbb ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::8a0 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::3e7051aafe03fe9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::2c7c9aade7dc079 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::75e1b1dc2cd03de ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::52f540841b9bbd8 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::2c7c9aade7dc079 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::d0384de9a8e0463 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::2b7a525889f02ca ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::90e9a70ab9b2c8a ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::f896857318da1a2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::11133926a236fff ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::ee3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-container-width ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.notice_gdpr_prefs ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.cmapi_cookie_privacy ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.cmapi_gtm_bl ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.notice_preferences ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-7 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _clsk ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _clck ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::f0c5123fbe93cc5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::d5f8e2471770f63 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::49a33334f48a24d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::1de ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::8b33c404c7882d7 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::15f26586b2d6214 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_25537dfe15cba908fd923a55d492f35e_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::482 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::0c1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::c5e589c9d4963bf ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::0b4 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::9e1f55ce917b215 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::61ddb3eb8403d74 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::aaa6dbe0418f2f5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::875c5a46826203a ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::1f2e9828bf28c1a ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::c25b8316f814897 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::9f24a1bf22343b3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_38255443409908a1a5a3892d0a9d8d88_modules::analytics-4::report::90aeb857bd54f0e ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_38255443409908a1a5a3892d0a9d8d88_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::959 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_38255443409908a1a5a3892d0a9d8d88_modules::analytics-4::report::b90ff79dcdb9da1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::1f4 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::analytics-4::report::619f7686baef985 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::analytics-4::report::89dd14e25be6029 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::analytics-4::report::9c032c0a3e66e00 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::02e1bf7ed4782bc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::2192c3c617ed2f3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::c9ea4b3f2559cd1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::ad6e534e042166d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::6e5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::02e1bf7ed4782bc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::2192c3c617ed2f3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::ad6e534e042166d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::ef38528a6c03dcd ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::ef38528a6c03dcd ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::6e5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::c9ea4b3f2559cd1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::d5c576cdc2d2fcd ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_36d24e34e9ac8b9a71f27c74b65792fd_modules::analytics-4::report::cdcf11fcf16b73d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_36d24e34e9ac8b9a71f27c74b65792fd_modules::analytics-4::report::a778e4c67e282d9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_36d24e34e9ac8b9a71f27c74b65792fd_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::770 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::ef313357bd2c871 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::a35e38837437aac ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::457bcd3cc7f6be8 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::3fc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::0121e3f2bebd50f ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::b2f0938a300eef4 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-10 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-10 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name storeApiCartData ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::2ecc46d7d3932c1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::1c7d5833d97a12c ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::57eaabcad6feb86 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::ee55bed936df49d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::bba2c18341785ae ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::cfa ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::f0003238f61690d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::9f78826f05dc141 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::79d79bd23b09981 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::5595df7b5230434 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::6dc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::d89d4b8bf9f0141 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::17c19297faadb2c ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::02bf1b9be1b1cb3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::1ce47c61427441b ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::59055ed2d0a622b ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::8b904cbaf84ecc3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::0ca66855e218554 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::fac ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::b11808e89aae82e ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::f2cd2c88aa5335c ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::0fe598bfd447d68 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::a82 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::57bc0297b6b3939 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::805 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::a3fd06ff7431de7 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::af33776d9c78de2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::e0a48a00a891211 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::5fc0f7d4ab001af ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-11 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-11 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-12 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-12 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::b374bed628ff129 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::db78fc02d9bb13d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::cec ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::bd6688201a02630 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::963 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::5916f9218044677 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::149 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::d33 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_89495c4be220808dc344c3dfb38053d1_core::user::tracking ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _gcl_au ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name WP_PREFERENCES_USER_1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-admin-panel ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-front-panel ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name smush_read_notification_ids ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wf-scan-issue-expanded-1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-seen ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wfls-remembered-xCvkE1TSsNvXnUqItxUdrg ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wfwaf-authcookie-ffdd303e7a8d0df4cf975b6f80880492 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name cmplzBannerPreviewConsentType ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_user_data ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_id ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_saved_categories ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_saved_services ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_consented_services ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_policy_id ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_marketing ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_statistics ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_preferences ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_functional ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_banner-status ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name wpmc_static_scan_banner_dismissed ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name asgarosforum_unread_exclude ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-postpass_49af45015cffad06e48e9c0738d25818 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name asgarosforum_unread_cleared ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp_woocommerce_session_49af45015cffad06e48e9c0738d25818 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wf-scan-issue-expanded-87 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-filters ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name hsoffset_post_786e40faa17cc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wfls-remembered-KjM-iI5P9ZZsYkSB3KfBJQ ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name aioseoNewsroomSeen ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wpcode_scroll_position ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _grecaptcha ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name asgarosforum_unique_id ##### Expiration ##### Function ## 7. Consent When you visit our website for the first time, we will show you a pop-up with an explanation about cookies. As soon as you click on “Save preferences”, you consent to us using the categories of cookies and plug-ins you selected in the pop-up, as described in this Cookie Policy. You can disable the use of cookies via your browser, but please note that our website may no longer work properly. ### 7.1 Manage your consent settings You have loaded the Cookie Policy without javascript support. On AMP, you can use the manage consent button on the bottom of the page. ## 8. Enabling/disabling and deleting cookies You can use your internet browser to automatically or manually delete cookies. You can also specify that certain cookies may not be placed. Another option is to change the settings of your internet browser so that you receive a message each time a cookie is placed. For more information about these options, please refer to the instructions in the Help section of your browser. Please note that our website may not work properly if all cookies are disabled. If you do delete the cookies in your browser, they will be placed again after your consent when you visit our website again. ## 9. Your rights with respect to personal data You have the following rights with respect to your personal data: - You have the right to know why your personal data is needed, what will happen to it, and how long it will be retained for. - Right of access: You have the right to access your personal data that is known to us. - Right to rectification: you have the right to supplement, correct, have deleted or blocked your personal data whenever you wish. - If you give us your consent to process your data, you have the right to revoke that consent and to have your personal data deleted. - Right to transfer your data: you have the right to request all your personal data from the controller and transfer it in its entirety to another controller. - Right to object: you may object to the processing of your data. We comply with this, unless there are justified grounds for processing. To exercise these rights, please contact us. Please refer to the contact details at the bottom of this Cookie Policy. If you have a complaint about how we handle your data, we would like to hear from you, but you also have the right to submit a complaint to the supervisory authority (the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO)). ## 10. Contact details For questions and/or comments about our Cookie Policy and this statement, please contact us by using the following contact details: Benjamin Stokes Nucleus House 2nd Floor 2 Lower Mortlake Road Richmond TW9 2JA United Kingdom Website: <https://snorkelventure.com> Email: hello@ex.comsnorkelventure.com Phone number: +16504845955 This Cookie Policy was synchronised with [cookiedatabase.org](https://cookiedatabase.org/) on 5 October 2026. --- ### [Opt-out preferences](https://snorkelventure.com/opt-out-preferences/) **Published:** July 15, 2026 **Author:** Web Admin **Content:** *This page was last changed on 29 July 2026, last checked on 29 July 2026 and applies to citizens and legal permanent residents of the United States.* ## 1. Introduction Our website, <https://snorkelventure.com> (hereinafter: “the website”) uses cookies and other related technologies (for convenience all technologies are referred to as “cookies”). Cookies are also placed by third parties we have engaged. In the document below we inform you about the use of cookies on our website. We do not sell or share personal information to third parties for monetary consideration; however, we may disclose certain personal information to third parties under circumstances that might be deemed a “sale” or ”Sharing” for residents of California (CPRA). We respect and understand that you may want to be sure that your personal information is not being sold or shared. You may request that we exclude your personal information from such arrangements, or direct us to limit the use and disclosure of possible sensitive personal information, by entering your name and email address below. You may need to provide additional identifying information before we can process your request. × Name Name Email Global opt-out from selling and sharing my personal information and limiting the use or disclosure of sensitive personal information. Do not sell my personal information for cross-context behavioural advertising Limit the use of my sensitive personal information Request for access Right to be Forgotten Right to Data Portability ## 2. Cookies When you visit our website it can be necessary to store and/or read certain data from your device by using technologies such as cookies. ### 2.1 Technical or functional cookies Some cookies ensure that certain parts of the website work properly and that your user preferences remain known. By placing functional cookies, we make it easier for you to visit our website. This way, you do not need to repeatedly enter the same information when visiting our website and, for example, the items remain in your shopping cart until you have paid. We may place these cookies without your consent. ### 2.2 Statistics cookies We use statistics cookies to optimize the website experience for our users. With these statistics cookies we get insights in the usage of our website. ### 2.3 Marketing/Tracking cookies Marketing/Tracking cookies are cookies or any other form of local storage, used to create user profiles to display advertising or to track the user on this website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. ### 2.4 Social media On our website, we have included content from Facebook to promote web pages (e.g. “like”, “pin”) or share (e.g. “tweet”) on social networks like Facebook. This content is embedded with code derived from Facebook and places cookies. This content might store and process certain information for personalised advertising. Please read the privacy statement of these social networks (which can change regularly) to read what they do with your (personal) data which they process using these cookies. The data that is retrieved is anonymised as much as possible. Facebook is located in the United States. ## 3. Placed cookies Most of these technologies have a function, a purpose, and an expiration period. 1. A function is a particular task a technology has. So a function can be to “store certain data.” 2. Purpose is “the Why” behind the function. Maybe the data is stored because it is needed for statistics. 3. The expiration period shows the length of the period the used technology can “store or read certain data.” ### WooCommerce Functional Consent to service woocommerce #### Usage We use WooCommerce for webshop management. [Read more about WooCommerce](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/woocommerce/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Functional ##### Name [wc\_cart\_hash\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/woocommerce/wc_cart_hash_/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store items in shopping cart ##### Name [wc\_fragments\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/woocommerce/wc_fragments_/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function ##### Name [woocommerce\_recently\_viewed](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/woocommerce/woocommerce_recently_viewed/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store performed actions on the website ### WordPress Functional Consent to service wordpress #### Usage We use WordPress for website development. [Read more about WordPress](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/wordpress/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Functional ##### Name [wordpress\_test\_cookie](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wordpress_test_cookie/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Read if cookies can be placed ##### Name [wp-settings-\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wp-settings/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store user preferences ##### Name [wp-settings-time-\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wp-settings-time/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store user preferences ##### Name [wordpress\_logged\_in\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wordpress_logged_in_/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store logged in users ##### Name [wp\_lang](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wp_lang/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store language settings ### Facebook Marketing, Functional Consent to service facebook #### Usage We use Facebook for display of recent social posts and/or social share buttons. [Read more about Facebook](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/facebook/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Facebook Privacy Statement](https://www.facebook.com/policy/cookies). #### Marketing ##### Name [\_fbp](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/_fbp/) ##### Expiration 3 months ##### Function Store and track visits across websites ##### Name [\_fbc](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/_fbc/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Store last visit ##### Name [fbm\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/fbm_/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store account details ##### Name [xs](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/xs/) ##### Expiration 3 months ##### Function Store a unique session ID ##### Name [fr](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/fr/) ##### Expiration 3 months ##### Function Provide ad delivery or retargeting ##### Name [act](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/act/) ##### Expiration 90 days ##### Function Store logged in users ##### Name [datr](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/datr/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Provide fraud prevention ##### Name [c\_user](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/c_user/) ##### Expiration 30 days ##### Function Store a unique user ID ##### Name [sb](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/sb/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Store browser details ##### Name [\*\_fbm\_](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/_fbm_/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store account details #### Functional ##### Name [wd](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/wd/) ##### Expiration 1 week ##### Function Read screen resolution ##### Name [csm](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/csm/) ##### Expiration 90 days ##### Function Provide fraud prevention ##### Name [actppresence](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/actppresence/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store and track if the browser tab is active ### Google Analytics Statistics Consent to service google-analytics #### Usage We use Google Analytics for website statistics. [Read more about Google Analytics](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-analytics/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Analytics Privacy Statement](https://business.safety.google/privacy/). #### Statistics ##### Name [\_ga](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_ga/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Store and count pageviews ##### Name [\_gid](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_gid/) ##### Expiration 1 day ##### Function Store and count pageviews ##### Name [\_gat\_gtag\_UA\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_gat_gtag_ua_-2/) ##### Expiration 1 minute ##### Function Store a unique user ID ##### Name [\_ga\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_ga_/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store and count pageviews ### Elementor Statistics (anonymous) Consent to service elementor #### Usage We use Elementor for content creation. [Read more about Elementor](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/elementor/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Statistics (anonymous) ##### Name [elementor](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/elementor/elementor/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store performed actions on the website ### Wistia Marketing Consent to service wistia #### Usage We use Wistia for video display. [Read more about Wistia](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/wistia/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Wistia Privacy Statement](https://wistia.com/privacy). #### Marketing ##### Name [wistia](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wistia/wistia/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store performed actions on the website ### OptinMonster Marketing Consent to service optinmonster #### Usage We use OptinMonster for mailing list subscriptions. [Read more about OptinMonster](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/optinmonster/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Marketing ##### Name [omWpApi](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/optinmonster/omwpapi/) ##### Expiration ##### Function ### Google Adsense Statistics, Marketing Consent to service google-adsense #### Usage We use Google Adsense for showing advertisements. [Read more about Google Adsense](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-adsense/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Adsense Privacy Statement](https://business.safety.google/privacy/). #### Statistics ##### Name [\_gcl\_ls](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-adsense/auto-draft-23/) ##### Expiration ##### Function Store and track interaction #### Marketing ##### Name [google\_adsense\_settings](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-adsense/google_adsense_settings/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Provide ad delivery or retargeting ### Google Fonts Marketing Consent to service google-fonts #### Usage We use Google Fonts for display of webfonts. [Read more about Google Fonts](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-fonts/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Fonts Privacy Statement](https://policies.google.com/privacy). #### Marketing ##### Name [Google Fonts API](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-fonts/tcb_google_fonts/) ##### Expiration expires immediately ##### Function Read user IP address ### Google Maps Marketing Consent to service google-maps #### Usage We use Google Maps for maps display. [Read more about Google Maps](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-maps/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Maps Privacy Statement](https://business.safety.google/privacy/). #### Marketing ##### Name [Google Maps API](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-maps/google-maps-api/) ##### Expiration expires immediately ##### Function Read user IP address ### YouTube Marketing Consent to service youtube #### Usage We use YouTube for video display. [Read more about YouTube](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/youtube/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [YouTube Privacy Statement](https://policies.google.com/privacy). #### Marketing ##### Name [GPS](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/gps/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store location data ##### Name [VISITOR\_INFO1\_LIVE](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/visitor_info1_live/) ##### Expiration 6 months ##### Function Provide ad delivery or retargeting ##### Name [YSC](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/ysc/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store and track interaction ##### Name [PREF](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/pref/) ##### Expiration 8 months ##### Function Store user preferences ### Miscellaneous Purpose pending investigation Consent to service miscellaneous #### Usage #### Sharing data Sharing of data is pending investigation #### Purpose pending investigation ##### Name wc_fragments_cae04cc451aec16100438695163550cc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-saving-post ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wordpress_logged_in_48a80a73e68f0d2366d332e43a22bbf2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wpSGCacheBypass ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _hjIncludedInSample ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _gat ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name vc4-templates ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name maintenance-review-top-hide ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name vc4-templates_expiresIn ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name https://snorkelventure.com/redux-timestamp ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wistia-video-progress-oegnwrdag1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name persist:https://snorkelventure.com/ ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name OTelJS.ClientId ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name loglevel ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name persist:https://snorkelventure.com/dev/ ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name https://snorkelventure.com/dev/redux-timestamp ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name vchideactivationmsg_vc11 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name activetab ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name autoptimize_feed ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-admin-container-pinned ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-front-container-pinned ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wpEmojiSettingsSupports ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name WP_DATA_USER_2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name WP_PREFERENCES_USER_2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.95.0_365026fbea06113a507e5491b3348f9a_modules::analytics::report::b61f278c54a514d869 ##### Expiration 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##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::25d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::fc323a16525ff51 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name BT_AA_DETECTION ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name __gsas ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name pvisitor ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::930 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::f3eea4e7d5097d1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::e5a49488eae705f ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::859c640dd7aded6 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::3e244b5d137e3ba ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::c6d822c88137290 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _I_ ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::75e1b1dc2cd03de ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::52f540841b9bbd8 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::8a0 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::3e7051aafe03fe9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::e58273ffdf11cbb ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::93dae13d0547143 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::e58273ffdf11cbb ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::8a0 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::3e7051aafe03fe9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::2c7c9aade7dc079 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::75e1b1dc2cd03de ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::52f540841b9bbd8 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::2c7c9aade7dc079 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::d0384de9a8e0463 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::2b7a525889f02ca ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::90e9a70ab9b2c8a ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::f896857318da1a2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::11133926a236fff ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::ee3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-container-width ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.notice_gdpr_prefs ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.cmapi_cookie_privacy ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.cmapi_gtm_bl ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.notice_preferences ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-7 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _clsk ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _clck ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::f0c5123fbe93cc5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::d5f8e2471770f63 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::49a33334f48a24d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::1de ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::8b33c404c7882d7 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::15f26586b2d6214 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_25537dfe15cba908fd923a55d492f35e_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::482 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::0c1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::c5e589c9d4963bf ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::0b4 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::9e1f55ce917b215 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::61ddb3eb8403d74 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::aaa6dbe0418f2f5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::875c5a46826203a ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::1f2e9828bf28c1a ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::c25b8316f814897 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::9f24a1bf22343b3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_38255443409908a1a5a3892d0a9d8d88_modules::analytics-4::report::90aeb857bd54f0e ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_38255443409908a1a5a3892d0a9d8d88_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::959 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_38255443409908a1a5a3892d0a9d8d88_modules::analytics-4::report::b90ff79dcdb9da1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::1f4 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::analytics-4::report::619f7686baef985 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::analytics-4::report::89dd14e25be6029 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::analytics-4::report::9c032c0a3e66e00 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::02e1bf7ed4782bc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::2192c3c617ed2f3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::c9ea4b3f2559cd1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::ad6e534e042166d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::6e5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::02e1bf7ed4782bc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::2192c3c617ed2f3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::ad6e534e042166d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::ef38528a6c03dcd ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::ef38528a6c03dcd ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::6e5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::c9ea4b3f2559cd1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::d5c576cdc2d2fcd ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_36d24e34e9ac8b9a71f27c74b65792fd_modules::analytics-4::report::cdcf11fcf16b73d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_36d24e34e9ac8b9a71f27c74b65792fd_modules::analytics-4::report::a778e4c67e282d9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_36d24e34e9ac8b9a71f27c74b65792fd_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::770 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::ef313357bd2c871 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::a35e38837437aac ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::457bcd3cc7f6be8 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::3fc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::0121e3f2bebd50f ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::b2f0938a300eef4 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-10 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-10 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name storeApiCartData ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::2ecc46d7d3932c1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::1c7d5833d97a12c ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::57eaabcad6feb86 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::ee55bed936df49d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::bba2c18341785ae ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::cfa ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::f0003238f61690d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::9f78826f05dc141 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::79d79bd23b09981 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::5595df7b5230434 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::6dc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::d89d4b8bf9f0141 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::17c19297faadb2c ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::02bf1b9be1b1cb3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::1ce47c61427441b ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::59055ed2d0a622b ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::8b904cbaf84ecc3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::0ca66855e218554 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::fac ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::b11808e89aae82e ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::f2cd2c88aa5335c ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::0fe598bfd447d68 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::a82 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::57bc0297b6b3939 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::805 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::a3fd06ff7431de7 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::af33776d9c78de2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::e0a48a00a891211 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::5fc0f7d4ab001af ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-11 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-11 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-12 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-12 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::b374bed628ff129 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::db78fc02d9bb13d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::cec ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::bd6688201a02630 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::963 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::5916f9218044677 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::149 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::d33 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_89495c4be220808dc344c3dfb38053d1_core::user::tracking ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _gcl_au ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name WP_PREFERENCES_USER_1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-admin-panel ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-front-panel ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name smush_read_notification_ids ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wf-scan-issue-expanded-1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-seen ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wfls-remembered-xCvkE1TSsNvXnUqItxUdrg ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wfwaf-authcookie-ffdd303e7a8d0df4cf975b6f80880492 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name cmplzBannerPreviewConsentType ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_user_data ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_id ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_saved_categories ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_saved_services ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_consented_services ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_policy_id ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_marketing ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_statistics ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_preferences ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_functional ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_banner-status ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name wpmc_static_scan_banner_dismissed ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name asgarosforum_unread_exclude ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-postpass_49af45015cffad06e48e9c0738d25818 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name asgarosforum_unread_cleared ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp_woocommerce_session_49af45015cffad06e48e9c0738d25818 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wf-scan-issue-expanded-87 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-filters ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name hsoffset_post_786e40faa17cc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wfls-remembered-KjM-iI5P9ZZsYkSB3KfBJQ ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name aioseoNewsroomSeen ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wpcode_scroll_position ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _grecaptcha ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name asgarosforum_unique_id ##### Expiration ##### Function ## 4. Browser and Device based Consent When you visit our website for the first time, we will show you a pop-up with an explanation about cookies. You do have the right to opt-out and to object against the further use of non-functional cookies. ### 4.1 Manage your opt-out preferences You have loaded the Cookie Policy without javascript support. On AMP, you can use the manage consent button on the bottom of the page. ## 5. Enabling/disabling and deleting cookies You can use your internet browser to automatically or manually delete cookies. You can also specify that certain cookies may not be placed. Another option is to change the settings of your internet browser so that you receive a message each time a cookie is placed. For more information about these options, please refer to the instructions in the Help section of your browser. Please note that our website may not work properly if all cookies are disabled. If you do delete the cookies in your browser, they will be placed again after your consent when you visit our website again. ## 6. Your rights with respect to personal data You have the following rights with respect to your personal data: - you may submit a request for access to the data we process about you; - you may object to the processing; - you may request an overview, in a commonly used format, of the data we process about you; - you may request correction or deletion of the data if it is incorrect or not or no longer relevant, or to ask to restrict the processing of the data. To exercise these rights, please contact us. Please refer to the contact details at the bottom of this Cookie Policy. If you have a complaint about how we handle your data, we would like to hear from you. For more information about your rights with respect to personal data, please refer to our [Privacy Statement](https://snorkelventure.com/privacy-statement-us/) ## 7. Contact details For questions and/or comments about our Cookie Policy and this statement, please contact us by using the following contact details: Benjamin Stokes Nucleus House 2nd Floor 2 Lower Mortlake Road Richmond TW9 2JA United Kingdom Website: <https://snorkelventure.com> Email: hello@ex.comsnorkelventure.com Phone number: +16504845955 This Cookie Policy was synchronized with [cookiedatabase.org](https://cookiedatabase.org/) on 5 October 2026. --- ### [Cookie Policy (EU)](https://snorkelventure.com/cookie-policy-eu/) **Published:** July 15, 2026 **Author:** Web Admin **Content:** *This Cookie Policy was last updated on 29 July 2026 and applies to citizens and legal permanent residents of the European Economic Area and Switzerland.* ## 1. Introduction Our website, <https://snorkelventure.com> (hereinafter: “the website”) uses cookies and other related technologies (for convenience all technologies are referred to as “cookies”). Cookies are also placed by third parties we have engaged. In the document below we inform you about the use of cookies on our website. ## 2. What are cookies? A cookie is a small simple file that is sent along with pages of this website and stored by your browser on the hard drive of your computer or another device. The information stored therein may be returned to our servers or to the servers of the relevant third parties during a subsequent visit. ## 3. What are scripts? A script is a piece of program code that is used to make our website function properly and interactively. This code is executed on our server or on your device. ## 4. What is a web beacon? A web beacon (or a pixel tag) is a small, invisible piece of text or image on a website that is used to monitor traffic on a website. In order to do this, various data about you is stored using web beacons. ## 5. Cookies ### 5.1 Technical or functional cookies Some cookies ensure that certain parts of the website work properly and that your user preferences remain known. By placing functional cookies, we make it easier for you to visit our website. This way, you do not need to repeatedly enter the same information when visiting our website and, for example, the items remain in your shopping cart until you have paid. We may place these cookies without your consent. ### 5.2 Statistics cookies We use statistics cookies to optimise the website experience for our users. With these statistics cookies we get insights in the usage of our website. We ask your permission to place statistics cookies. ### 5.3 Marketing/Tracking cookies Marketing/Tracking cookies are cookies or any other form of local storage, used to create user profiles to display advertising or to track the user on this website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. ### 5.4 Social media On our website, we have included content from Facebook to promote web pages (e.g. “like”, “pin”) or share (e.g. “tweet”) on social networks like Facebook. This content is embedded with code derived from Facebook and places cookies. This content might store and process certain information for personalised advertising. Please read the privacy statement of these social networks (which can change regularly) to read what they do with your (personal) data which they process using these cookies. The data that is retrieved is anonymised as much as possible. Facebook is located in the United States. ## 6. Placed cookies ### WooCommerce Functional Consent to service woocommerce #### Usage We use WooCommerce for webshop management. [Read more about WooCommerce](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/woocommerce/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Functional ##### Name [wc\_cart\_hash\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/woocommerce/wc_cart_hash_/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store items in shopping cart ##### Name [wc\_fragments\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/woocommerce/wc_fragments_/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function ##### Name [woocommerce\_recently\_viewed](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/woocommerce/woocommerce_recently_viewed/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store performed actions on the website ### WordPress Functional Consent to service wordpress #### Usage We use WordPress for website development. [Read more about WordPress](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/wordpress/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Functional ##### Name [wordpress\_test\_cookie](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wordpress_test_cookie/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Read if cookies can be placed ##### Name [wp-settings-\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wp-settings/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store user preferences ##### Name [wp-settings-time-\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wp-settings-time/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store user preferences ##### Name [wordpress\_logged\_in\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wordpress_logged_in_/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store logged in users ##### Name [wp\_lang](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wp_lang/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store language settings ### Facebook Marketing, Functional Consent to service facebook #### Usage We use Facebook for display of recent social posts and/or social share buttons. [Read more about Facebook](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/facebook/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Facebook Privacy Statement](https://www.facebook.com/policy/cookies). #### Marketing ##### Name [\_fbp](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/_fbp/) ##### Expiration 3 months ##### Function Store and track visits across websites ##### Name [\_fbc](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/_fbc/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Store last visit ##### Name [fbm\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/fbm_/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store account details ##### Name [xs](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/xs/) ##### Expiration 3 months ##### Function Store a unique session ID ##### Name [fr](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/fr/) ##### Expiration 3 months ##### Function Provide ad delivery or retargeting ##### Name [act](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/act/) ##### Expiration 90 days ##### Function Store logged in users ##### Name [datr](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/datr/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Provide fraud prevention ##### Name [c\_user](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/c_user/) ##### Expiration 30 days ##### Function Store a unique user ID ##### Name [sb](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/sb/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Store browser details ##### Name [\*\_fbm\_](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/_fbm_/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store account details #### Functional ##### Name [wd](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/wd/) ##### Expiration 1 week ##### Function Read screen resolution ##### Name [csm](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/csm/) ##### Expiration 90 days ##### Function Provide fraud prevention ##### Name [actppresence](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/actppresence/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store and track if the browser tab is active ### Google Analytics Statistics Consent to service google-analytics #### Usage We use Google Analytics for website statistics. [Read more about Google Analytics](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-analytics/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Analytics Privacy Statement](https://business.safety.google/privacy/). #### Statistics ##### Name [\_ga](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_ga/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Store and count pageviews ##### Name [\_gid](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_gid/) ##### Expiration 1 day ##### Function Store and count pageviews ##### Name [\_gat\_gtag\_UA\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_gat_gtag_ua_-2/) ##### Expiration 1 minute ##### Function Store a unique user ID ##### Name [\_ga\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_ga_/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store and count pageviews ### Elementor Statistics (anonymous) Consent to service elementor #### Usage We use Elementor for content creation. [Read more about Elementor](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/elementor/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Statistics (anonymous) ##### Name [elementor](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/elementor/elementor/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store performed actions on the website ### Wistia Marketing Consent to service wistia #### Usage We use Wistia for video display. [Read more about Wistia](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/wistia/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Wistia Privacy Statement](https://wistia.com/privacy). #### Marketing ##### Name [wistia](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wistia/wistia/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store performed actions on the website ### OptinMonster Marketing Consent to service optinmonster #### Usage We use OptinMonster for mailing list subscriptions. [Read more about OptinMonster](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/optinmonster/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Marketing ##### Name [omWpApi](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/optinmonster/omwpapi/) ##### Expiration ##### Function ### Google Adsense Statistics, Marketing Consent to service google-adsense #### Usage We use Google Adsense for showing advertisements. [Read more about Google Adsense](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-adsense/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Adsense Privacy Statement](https://business.safety.google/privacy/). #### Statistics ##### Name [\_gcl\_ls](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-adsense/auto-draft-23/) ##### Expiration ##### Function Store and track interaction #### Marketing ##### Name [google\_adsense\_settings](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-adsense/google_adsense_settings/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Provide ad delivery or retargeting ### Google Fonts Marketing Consent to service google-fonts #### Usage We use Google Fonts for display of webfonts. [Read more about Google Fonts](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-fonts/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Fonts Privacy Statement](https://policies.google.com/privacy). #### Marketing ##### Name [Google Fonts API](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-fonts/tcb_google_fonts/) ##### Expiration expires immediately ##### Function Read user IP address ### Google Maps Marketing Consent to service google-maps #### Usage We use Google Maps for maps display. [Read more about Google Maps](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-maps/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Maps Privacy Statement](https://business.safety.google/privacy/). #### Marketing ##### Name [Google Maps API](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-maps/google-maps-api/) ##### Expiration expires immediately ##### Function Read user IP address ### YouTube Marketing Consent to service youtube #### Usage We use YouTube for video display. [Read more about YouTube](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/youtube/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [YouTube Privacy Statement](https://policies.google.com/privacy). #### Marketing ##### Name [GPS](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/gps/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store location data ##### Name [VISITOR\_INFO1\_LIVE](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/visitor_info1_live/) ##### Expiration 6 months ##### Function Provide ad delivery or retargeting ##### Name [YSC](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/ysc/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store and track interaction ##### Name [PREF](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/pref/) ##### Expiration 8 months ##### Function Store user preferences ### Miscellaneous Purpose pending investigation Consent to service miscellaneous #### Usage #### Sharing data Sharing of data is pending investigation #### Purpose pending investigation ##### Name wc_fragments_cae04cc451aec16100438695163550cc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-saving-post ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wordpress_logged_in_48a80a73e68f0d2366d332e43a22bbf2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wpSGCacheBypass ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _hjIncludedInSample ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _gat ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name vc4-templates ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name maintenance-review-top-hide ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name vc4-templates_expiresIn ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name https://snorkelventure.com/redux-timestamp ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wistia-video-progress-oegnwrdag1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name persist:https://snorkelventure.com/ ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name OTelJS.ClientId ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name loglevel ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name persist:https://snorkelventure.com/dev/ ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name https://snorkelventure.com/dev/redux-timestamp ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name vchideactivationmsg_vc11 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name activetab ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name autoptimize_feed ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-admin-container-pinned ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-front-container-pinned ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wpEmojiSettingsSupports ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name WP_DATA_USER_2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name WP_PREFERENCES_USER_2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.95.0_365026fbea06113a507e5491b3348f9a_modules::analytics::report::b61f278c54a514d869 ##### Expiration 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googlesitekit_1.95.0_cba11b92f7194a03109e9a40f65b5e10_modules::analytics::report::2346afe22ed53346fc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.95.0_cba11b92f7194a03109e9a40f65b5e10_modules::analytics::report::2537ebadd4643e4312 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.95.0_cba11b92f7194a03109e9a40f65b5e10_modules::analytics::report::938b571c7f3c841fdf ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.95.0_cba11b92f7194a03109e9a40f65b5e10_modules::analytics::report::78d53d641559c93d37 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.95.0_cba11b92f7194a03109e9a40f65b5e10_modules::analytics::report::74cd88c24e1d7644fb ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name sbjs_migrations ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name sbjs_current_add ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name sbjs_first_add ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name sbjs_current ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name sbjs_first ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name sbjs_udata ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name sbjs_session ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name storeApiNonce ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.128.1_b7a420f0d3508ae4b9d04d278c858793_modules::analytics-4::report::5baaf0856df9312 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.128.1_fc78c1628ef0d229665f5f2a94319928_modules::analytics-4::report::55e6734dc8e82ae ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.128.1_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::758e15b160175f5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.128.1_b7a420f0d3508ae4b9d04d278c858793_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::f35 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.128.1_fc78c1628ef0d229665f5f2a94319928_modules::analytics-4::report::302c4645626af66 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.128.1_b7a420f0d3508ae4b9d04d278c858793_modules::analytics-4::report::55daccba83ab01e 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googlesitekit_1.132.0_fc78c1628ef0d229665f5f2a94319928_modules::analytics-4::report::302c4645626af66 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_fc78c1628ef0d229665f5f2a94319928_modules::analytics-4::report::203c2c96a3e4619 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::e72e01e5722992b ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_fc78c1628ef0d229665f5f2a94319928_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::f35 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_fc78c1628ef0d229665f5f2a94319928_modules::analytics-4::report::4b8427b8d3e090c ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::4a1aeaa6e30e875 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_fc78c1628ef0d229665f5f2a94319928_modules::analytics-4::report::1cf825fdfc1a1d6 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::25d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::fc323a16525ff51 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name BT_AA_DETECTION ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name __gsas ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name pvisitor ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::930 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::f3eea4e7d5097d1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::e5a49488eae705f ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::859c640dd7aded6 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::3e244b5d137e3ba ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_c03a746eb6a8d6c571cfe073e40c744f_modules::analytics-4::report::c6d822c88137290 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _I_ ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::75e1b1dc2cd03de ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::52f540841b9bbd8 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::8a0 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::3e7051aafe03fe9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::e58273ffdf11cbb ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::93dae13d0547143 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::e58273ffdf11cbb ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::8a0 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::3e7051aafe03fe9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::2c7c9aade7dc079 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::75e1b1dc2cd03de ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::52f540841b9bbd8 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::2c7c9aade7dc079 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::d0384de9a8e0463 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::2b7a525889f02ca ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::90e9a70ab9b2c8a ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::f896857318da1a2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::11133926a236fff ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::ee3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-container-width ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.notice_gdpr_prefs ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.cmapi_cookie_privacy ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.cmapi_gtm_bl ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.notice_preferences ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-7 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _clsk ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _clck ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::f0c5123fbe93cc5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::d5f8e2471770f63 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::49a33334f48a24d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::1de ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::8b33c404c7882d7 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::15f26586b2d6214 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_25537dfe15cba908fd923a55d492f35e_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::482 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::0c1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::c5e589c9d4963bf ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::0b4 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::9e1f55ce917b215 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::61ddb3eb8403d74 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::aaa6dbe0418f2f5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::875c5a46826203a ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::1f2e9828bf28c1a ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::c25b8316f814897 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::9f24a1bf22343b3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_38255443409908a1a5a3892d0a9d8d88_modules::analytics-4::report::90aeb857bd54f0e ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_38255443409908a1a5a3892d0a9d8d88_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::959 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_38255443409908a1a5a3892d0a9d8d88_modules::analytics-4::report::b90ff79dcdb9da1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::1f4 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::analytics-4::report::619f7686baef985 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::analytics-4::report::89dd14e25be6029 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::analytics-4::report::9c032c0a3e66e00 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::02e1bf7ed4782bc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::2192c3c617ed2f3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::c9ea4b3f2559cd1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::ad6e534e042166d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::6e5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::02e1bf7ed4782bc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::2192c3c617ed2f3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::ad6e534e042166d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::ef38528a6c03dcd ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::ef38528a6c03dcd ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::6e5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::c9ea4b3f2559cd1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::d5c576cdc2d2fcd ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_36d24e34e9ac8b9a71f27c74b65792fd_modules::analytics-4::report::cdcf11fcf16b73d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_36d24e34e9ac8b9a71f27c74b65792fd_modules::analytics-4::report::a778e4c67e282d9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_36d24e34e9ac8b9a71f27c74b65792fd_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::770 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::ef313357bd2c871 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::a35e38837437aac ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::457bcd3cc7f6be8 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::3fc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::0121e3f2bebd50f ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::b2f0938a300eef4 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-10 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-10 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name storeApiCartData ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::2ecc46d7d3932c1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::1c7d5833d97a12c ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::57eaabcad6feb86 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::ee55bed936df49d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::bba2c18341785ae ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::cfa ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::f0003238f61690d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::9f78826f05dc141 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::79d79bd23b09981 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::5595df7b5230434 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::6dc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::d89d4b8bf9f0141 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::17c19297faadb2c ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::02bf1b9be1b1cb3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::1ce47c61427441b ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::59055ed2d0a622b ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::8b904cbaf84ecc3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::0ca66855e218554 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::fac ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::b11808e89aae82e ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::f2cd2c88aa5335c ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::0fe598bfd447d68 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::a82 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::57bc0297b6b3939 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::805 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::a3fd06ff7431de7 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::af33776d9c78de2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::e0a48a00a891211 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::5fc0f7d4ab001af ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-11 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-11 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-12 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-12 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::b374bed628ff129 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::db78fc02d9bb13d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::cec ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::bd6688201a02630 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::963 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::5916f9218044677 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::149 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::d33 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_89495c4be220808dc344c3dfb38053d1_core::user::tracking ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _gcl_au ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name WP_PREFERENCES_USER_1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-admin-panel ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-front-panel ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name smush_read_notification_ids ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wf-scan-issue-expanded-1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-seen ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wfls-remembered-xCvkE1TSsNvXnUqItxUdrg ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wfwaf-authcookie-ffdd303e7a8d0df4cf975b6f80880492 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name cmplzBannerPreviewConsentType ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_user_data ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_id ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_saved_categories ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_saved_services ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_consented_services ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_policy_id ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_marketing ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_statistics ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_preferences ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_functional ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_banner-status ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name wpmc_static_scan_banner_dismissed ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name asgarosforum_unread_exclude ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-postpass_49af45015cffad06e48e9c0738d25818 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name asgarosforum_unread_cleared ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp_woocommerce_session_49af45015cffad06e48e9c0738d25818 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wf-scan-issue-expanded-87 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-filters ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name hsoffset_post_786e40faa17cc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wfls-remembered-KjM-iI5P9ZZsYkSB3KfBJQ ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name aioseoNewsroomSeen ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wpcode_scroll_position ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _grecaptcha ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name asgarosforum_unique_id ##### Expiration ##### Function ## 7. Consent When you visit our website for the first time, we will show you a pop-up with an explanation about cookies. As soon as you click on “Save preferences”, you consent to us using the categories of cookies and plug-ins you selected in the pop-up, as described in this Cookie Policy. You can disable the use of cookies via your browser, but please note that our website may no longer work properly. ### 7.1 Manage your consent settings You have loaded the Cookie Policy without javascript support. On AMP, you can use the manage consent button on the bottom of the page. ## 8. Enabling/disabling and deleting cookies You can use your internet browser to automatically or manually delete cookies. You can also specify that certain cookies may not be placed. Another option is to change the settings of your internet browser so that you receive a message each time a cookie is placed. For more information about these options, please refer to the instructions in the Help section of your browser. Please note that our website may not work properly if all cookies are disabled. If you do delete the cookies in your browser, they will be placed again after your consent when you visit our website again. ## 9. Your rights with respect to personal data You have the following rights with respect to your personal data: - You have the right to know why your personal data is needed, what will happen to it, and how long it will be retained for. - Right of access: You have the right to access your personal data that is known to us. - Right to rectification: you have the right to supplement, correct, have deleted or blocked your personal data whenever you wish. - If you give us your consent to process your data, you have the right to revoke that consent and to have your personal data deleted. - Right to transfer your data: you have the right to request all your personal data from the controller and transfer it in its entirety to another controller. - Right to object: you may object to the processing of your data. We comply with this, unless there are justified grounds for processing. To exercise these rights, please contact us. Please refer to the contact details at the bottom of this Cookie Policy. If you have a complaint about how we handle your data, we would like to hear from you, but you also have the right to submit a complaint to the supervisory authority (the Data Protection Authority). ## 10. Contact details For questions and/or comments about our Cookie Policy and this statement, please contact us by using the following contact details: Benjamin Stokes Nucleus House 2nd Floor 2 Lower Mortlake Road Richmond TW9 2JA United Kingdom Website: <https://snorkelventure.com> Email: hello@ex.comsnorkelventure.com Phone number: +16504845955 This Cookie Policy was synchronised with [cookiedatabase.org](https://cookiedatabase.org/) on 5 October 2026. --- ### [Imprint](https://snorkelventure.com/imprint/) **Published:** July 15, 2026 **Author:** Web Admin **Content:** *This imprint was last updated on 29 July 2026.* ### The owner of this website is: Benjamin Stokes Limited Nucleus House 2nd Floor 2 Lower Mortlake Road Richmond TW9 2JA United Kingdom Email: hello@ex.comsnorkelventure.com Phone number: +16504845955 ### The legal representative(s) of Benjamin Stokes Limited: Benjamin Stokes ## 1. General ### 1.1 We are registered at Companies House under the licence or registration number: 09473142 We are not willing or obliged to participate in dispute resolution procedures before a consumer arbitration board. ## 2. The following information is mandatory according to German law. --- ### [Cookie Policy (CA)](https://snorkelventure.com/cookie-policy-ca/) **Published:** July 15, 2026 **Author:** Web Admin **Content:** *This page was last changed on 29 July 2026, last checked on 29 July 2026 and applies to citizens and legal permanent residents of Canada.* ## 1. Introduction Our website, <https://snorkelventure.com> (hereinafter: “the website”) uses cookies and other related technologies (for convenience all technologies are referred to as “cookies”). Cookies are also placed by third parties we have engaged. In the document below we inform you about the use of cookies on our website. ## 2. What are cookies? A cookie is a small simple file that is sent along with pages of this website and stored by your browser on the hard drive of your computer or another device. The information stored therein may be returned to our servers or to the servers of the relevant third parties during a subsequent visit. ## 3. What are scripts? A script is a piece of program code that is used to make our website function properly and interactively. This code is executed on our server or on your device. ## 4. What is a web beacon? A web beacon (or a pixel tag) is a small, invisible piece of text or image on a website that is used to monitor traffic on a website. In order to do this, various data about you is stored using web beacons. ## 5. Third parties We have made agreements about the use of cookies with other companies that place cookies. However, we cannot guarantee that these third parties handle your personal data in a reliable or secure manner. Parties such as Google are to be considered as independent data controllers. We recommend that you read the privacy statements of these companies. ## 6. Cookies ### 6.1 Technical or functional cookies Some cookies ensure that certain parts of the website work properly and that your user preferences remain known. By placing functional cookies, we make it easier for you to visit our website. This way, you do not need to repeatedly enter the same information when visiting our website and, for example, the items remain in your shopping cart until you have paid. ### 6.2 Statistics cookies We use statistics cookies to optimise the website experience for our users. With these statistics cookies we get insights in the usage of our website. ### 6.3 Marketing/Tracking cookies Marketing/Tracking cookies are cookies or any other form of local storage, used to create user profiles to display advertising or to track the user on this website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. ### 6.4 Social media On our website, we have included content from Facebook to promote web pages (e.g. “like”, “pin”) or share (e.g. “tweet”) on social networks like Facebook. This content is embedded with code derived from Facebook and places cookies. This content might store and process certain information for personalised advertising. Please read the privacy statement of these social networks (which can change regularly) to read what they do with your (personal) data which they process using these cookies. The data that is retrieved is anonymised as much as possible. Facebook is located in the United States. ## 7. Placed cookies ### WooCommerce Functional Consent to service woocommerce #### Usage We use WooCommerce for webshop management. [Read more about WooCommerce](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/woocommerce/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Functional ##### Name [wc\_cart\_hash\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/woocommerce/wc_cart_hash_/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store items in shopping cart ##### Name [wc\_fragments\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/woocommerce/wc_fragments_/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function ##### Name [woocommerce\_recently\_viewed](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/woocommerce/woocommerce_recently_viewed/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store performed actions on the website ### WordPress Functional Consent to service wordpress #### Usage We use WordPress for website development. [Read more about WordPress](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/wordpress/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Functional ##### Name [wordpress\_test\_cookie](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wordpress_test_cookie/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Read if cookies can be placed ##### Name [wp-settings-\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wp-settings/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store user preferences ##### Name [wp-settings-time-\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wp-settings-time/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store user preferences ##### Name [wordpress\_logged\_in\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wordpress_logged_in_/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store logged in users ##### Name [wp\_lang](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wordpress/wp_lang/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store language settings ### Facebook Marketing, Functional Consent to service facebook #### Usage We use Facebook for display of recent social posts and/or social share buttons. [Read more about Facebook](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/facebook/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Facebook Privacy Statement](https://www.facebook.com/policy/cookies). #### Marketing ##### Name [\_fbp](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/_fbp/) ##### Expiration 3 months ##### Function Store and track visits across websites ##### Name [\_fbc](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/_fbc/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Store last visit ##### Name [fbm\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/fbm_/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store account details ##### Name [xs](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/xs/) ##### Expiration 3 months ##### Function Store a unique session ID ##### Name [fr](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/fr/) ##### Expiration 3 months ##### Function Provide ad delivery or retargeting ##### Name [act](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/act/) ##### Expiration 90 days ##### Function Store logged in users ##### Name [datr](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/datr/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Provide fraud prevention ##### Name [c\_user](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/c_user/) ##### Expiration 30 days ##### Function Store a unique user ID ##### Name [sb](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/sb/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Store browser details ##### Name [\*\_fbm\_](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/_fbm_/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store account details #### Functional ##### Name [wd](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/wd/) ##### Expiration 1 week ##### Function Read screen resolution ##### Name [csm](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/csm/) ##### Expiration 90 days ##### Function Provide fraud prevention ##### Name [actppresence](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/facebook/actppresence/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store and track if the browser tab is active ### Google Analytics Statistics Consent to service google-analytics #### Usage We use Google Analytics for website statistics. [Read more about Google Analytics](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-analytics/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Analytics Privacy Statement](https://business.safety.google/privacy/). #### Statistics ##### Name [\_ga](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_ga/) ##### Expiration 2 years ##### Function Store and count pageviews ##### Name [\_gid](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_gid/) ##### Expiration 1 day ##### Function Store and count pageviews ##### Name [\_gat\_gtag\_UA\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_gat_gtag_ua_-2/) ##### Expiration 1 minute ##### Function Store a unique user ID ##### Name [\_ga\_\*](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-analytics/_ga_/) ##### Expiration 1 year ##### Function Store and count pageviews ### Elementor Statistics (anonymous) Consent to service elementor #### Usage We use Elementor for content creation. [Read more about Elementor](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/elementor/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Statistics (anonymous) ##### Name [elementor](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/elementor/elementor/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store performed actions on the website ### Wistia Marketing Consent to service wistia #### Usage We use Wistia for video display. [Read more about Wistia](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/wistia/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Wistia Privacy Statement](https://wistia.com/privacy). #### Marketing ##### Name [wistia](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/wistia/wistia/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Store performed actions on the website ### OptinMonster Marketing Consent to service optinmonster #### Usage We use OptinMonster for mailing list subscriptions. [Read more about OptinMonster](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/optinmonster/) #### Sharing data This data is not shared with third parties. #### Marketing ##### Name [omWpApi](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/optinmonster/omwpapi/) ##### Expiration ##### Function ### Google Adsense Statistics, Marketing Consent to service google-adsense #### Usage We use Google Adsense for showing advertisements. [Read more about Google Adsense](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-adsense/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Adsense Privacy Statement](https://business.safety.google/privacy/). #### Statistics ##### Name [\_gcl\_ls](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-adsense/auto-draft-23/) ##### Expiration ##### Function Store and track interaction #### Marketing ##### Name [google\_adsense\_settings](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-adsense/google_adsense_settings/) ##### Expiration persistent ##### Function Provide ad delivery or retargeting ### Google Fonts Marketing Consent to service google-fonts #### Usage We use Google Fonts for display of webfonts. [Read more about Google Fonts](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-fonts/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Fonts Privacy Statement](https://policies.google.com/privacy). #### Marketing ##### Name [Google Fonts API](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-fonts/tcb_google_fonts/) ##### Expiration expires immediately ##### Function Read user IP address ### Google Maps Marketing Consent to service google-maps #### Usage We use Google Maps for maps display. [Read more about Google Maps](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/google-maps/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [Google Maps Privacy Statement](https://business.safety.google/privacy/). #### Marketing ##### Name [Google Maps API](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/google-maps/google-maps-api/) ##### Expiration expires immediately ##### Function Read user IP address ### YouTube Marketing Consent to service youtube #### Usage We use YouTube for video display. [Read more about YouTube](https://cookiedatabase.org/service/youtube/) #### Sharing data For more information, please read the [YouTube Privacy Statement](https://policies.google.com/privacy). #### Marketing ##### Name [GPS](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/gps/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store location data ##### Name [VISITOR\_INFO1\_LIVE](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/visitor_info1_live/) ##### Expiration 6 months ##### Function Provide ad delivery or retargeting ##### Name [YSC](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/ysc/) ##### Expiration session ##### Function Store and track interaction ##### Name [PREF](https://cookiedatabase.org/cookie/youtube/pref/) ##### Expiration 8 months ##### Function Store user preferences ### Miscellaneous Purpose pending investigation Consent to service miscellaneous #### Usage #### Sharing data Sharing of data is pending investigation #### Purpose pending investigation ##### Name 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##### Name persist:https://snorkelventure.com/ ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name OTelJS.ClientId ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name loglevel ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name persist:https://snorkelventure.com/dev/ ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name https://snorkelventure.com/dev/redux-timestamp ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name vchideactivationmsg_vc11 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name activetab ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name autoptimize_feed ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-admin-container-pinned ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-front-container-pinned ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wpEmojiSettingsSupports ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name WP_DATA_USER_2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name WP_PREFERENCES_USER_2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.95.0_365026fbea06113a507e5491b3348f9a_modules::analytics::report::b61f278c54a514d869 ##### Expiration 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googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::e58273ffdf11cbb ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::93dae13d0547143 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::e58273ffdf11cbb ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::8a0 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::3e7051aafe03fe9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.132.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::2c7c9aade7dc079 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::75e1b1dc2cd03de ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::52f540841b9bbd8 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_377007853a452152760eb213cf4547fe_modules::analytics-4::report::2c7c9aade7dc079 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::d0384de9a8e0463 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::2b7a525889f02ca ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::90e9a70ab9b2c8a ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::f896857318da1a2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::analytics-4::report::11133926a236fff ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_3fe1b0fc402ecc1a2400f8ddca3702ba_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::ee3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-container-width ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.notice_gdpr_prefs ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.cmapi_cookie_privacy ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.cmapi_gtm_bl ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name truste.eu.cookie.notice_preferences ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-7 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _clsk ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _clck ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::f0c5123fbe93cc5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::d5f8e2471770f63 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::49a33334f48a24d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::1de ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::8b33c404c7882d7 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_a75436685605eb4f3641e258bb6ae7f8_modules::analytics-4::report::15f26586b2d6214 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_25537dfe15cba908fd923a55d492f35e_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::482 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::0c1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::c5e589c9d4963bf ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::0b4 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::9e1f55ce917b215 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::61ddb3eb8403d74 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::aaa6dbe0418f2f5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::875c5a46826203a ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::1f2e9828bf28c1a ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_449cac906d8cb468999d1aba8114921f_modules::analytics-4::report::c25b8316f814897 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.137.0_796b9bfd0b2d520bb5f823441d8f8592_modules::analytics-4::report::9f24a1bf22343b3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_38255443409908a1a5a3892d0a9d8d88_modules::analytics-4::report::90aeb857bd54f0e ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_38255443409908a1a5a3892d0a9d8d88_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::959 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_38255443409908a1a5a3892d0a9d8d88_modules::analytics-4::report::b90ff79dcdb9da1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::1f4 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::analytics-4::report::619f7686baef985 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::analytics-4::report::89dd14e25be6029 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_dc2d326a9f18593de1ec8a404ca0530c_modules::analytics-4::report::9c032c0a3e66e00 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::02e1bf7ed4782bc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::2192c3c617ed2f3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::c9ea4b3f2559cd1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::ad6e534e042166d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::6e5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::02e1bf7ed4782bc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::2192c3c617ed2f3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::ad6e534e042166d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::analytics-4::report::ef38528a6c03dcd ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::ef38528a6c03dcd ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_160442e097d582a51f36f5ebdbc4bc93_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::6e5 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::c9ea4b3f2559cd1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6e94ff441819e6c0c0be1e3c7e1b5abd_modules::analytics-4::report::d5c576cdc2d2fcd ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_36d24e34e9ac8b9a71f27c74b65792fd_modules::analytics-4::report::cdcf11fcf16b73d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_36d24e34e9ac8b9a71f27c74b65792fd_modules::analytics-4::report::a778e4c67e282d9 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_36d24e34e9ac8b9a71f27c74b65792fd_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::770 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::ef313357bd2c871 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::a35e38837437aac ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::457bcd3cc7f6be8 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::3fc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::0121e3f2bebd50f ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_6c01cbf81dcb7885cdc6d86569386808_modules::analytics-4::report::b2f0938a300eef4 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-10 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-10 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name storeApiCartData ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::2ecc46d7d3932c1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::1c7d5833d97a12c ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::57eaabcad6feb86 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::ee55bed936df49d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::analytics-4::report::bba2c18341785ae ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_3ba9dbff24de369e03e9b3162da88f7d_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::cfa ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::f0003238f61690d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::9f78826f05dc141 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::79d79bd23b09981 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::5595df7b5230434 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::6dc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::d89d4b8bf9f0141 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_67eeb41c1d6f4aecda9cbbf35a770bb4_modules::analytics-4::report::17c19297faadb2c ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::02bf1b9be1b1cb3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::1ce47c61427441b ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::59055ed2d0a622b ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::8b904cbaf84ecc3 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::analytics-4::report::0ca66855e218554 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_5cc8d713b81bea55cc7cab84facec4c4_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::fac ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::b11808e89aae82e ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::f2cd2c88aa5335c ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::0fe598bfd447d68 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::a82 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::57bc0297b6b3939 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::805 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::a3fd06ff7431de7 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::af33776d9c78de2 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::e0a48a00a891211 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.157.0_7910914cfbeadfe3e0ed9c222be271d9_modules::analytics-4::report::5fc0f7d4ab001af ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-11 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-11 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-time-12 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-settings-12 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::b374bed628ff129 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::db78fc02d9bb13d ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::cec ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::bd6688201a02630 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::963 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::analytics-4::report::5916f9218044677 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::149 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_ed1333a36eba1bd15c80f1ffd12e8a36_modules::search-console::searchanalytics::d33 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name googlesitekit_1.168.0_89495c4be220808dc344c3dfb38053d1_core::user::tracking ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _gcl_au ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name WP_PREFERENCES_USER_1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-admin-panel ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-front-panel ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name smush_read_notification_ids ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wf-scan-issue-expanded-1 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-seen ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wfls-remembered-xCvkE1TSsNvXnUqItxUdrg ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wfwaf-authcookie-ffdd303e7a8d0df4cf975b6f80880492 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name cmplzBannerPreviewConsentType ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_user_data ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_id ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_saved_categories ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_saved_services ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_consented_services ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_policy_id ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_marketing ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_statistics ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_preferences ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_functional ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name cmplz_banner-status ##### Expiration 365 days ##### Function ##### Name wpmc_static_scan_banner_dismissed ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name asgarosforum_unread_exclude ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp-postpass_49af45015cffad06e48e9c0738d25818 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name asgarosforum_unread_cleared ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wp_woocommerce_session_49af45015cffad06e48e9c0738d25818 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wf-scan-issue-expanded-87 ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name qm-filters ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name hsoffset_post_786e40faa17cc ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wfls-remembered-KjM-iI5P9ZZsYkSB3KfBJQ ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name aioseoNewsroomSeen ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name wpcode_scroll_position ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name _grecaptcha ##### Expiration ##### Function ##### Name asgarosforum_unique_id ##### Expiration ##### Function ### 7.1 Manage your consent settings You have loaded the Cookie Policy without javascript support. On AMP, you can use the manage consent button on the bottom of the page. You can also disable the use of cookies via your browser, but please note that our website may no longer work properly. ## 8. Enabling/disabling and deleting cookies You can use your internet browser to automatically or manually delete cookies. You can also specify that certain cookies may not be placed. Another option is to change the settings of your internet browser so that you receive a message each time a cookie is placed. For more information about these options, please refer to the instructions in the Help section of your browser. Or you can indicate your preferences on the following page: [youradchoices.ca](https://youradchoices.ca) Please note that our website may not work properly if all cookies are disabled. If you do delete the cookies in your browser, they will be placed again after your consent when you visit our website again. ## 9. Your rights with respect to personal data You have the following rights with respect to your personal data: - you may submit a request for access to the data we process about you; - you may object to the processing; - you may request an overview, in a commonly used format, of the data we process about you; - you may request correction or deletion of the data if it is incorrect or not or no longer relevant. Where appropriate, the amended information shall be transmitted to third parties having access to the information in question. - You have the right to withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. You will be informed of the implications of such withdrawal. - You have the right to address a challenge concerning non-compliance with PIPEDA to our organisation and, if the issue is not resolved, to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. To exercise these rights, please contact us. Please refer to the contact details at the bottom of this Cookie Policy. If you have a complaint about how we handle your data, we would like to hear from you. ## 10. Contact details For questions and/or comments about our Cookie Policy and this statement, please contact us by using the following contact details: Benjamin Stokes Nucleus House 2nd Floor 2 Lower Mortlake Road Richmond TW9 2JA United Kingdom Website: <https://snorkelventure.com> Email: hello@ex.comsnorkelventure.com Phone number: +16504845955 This Cookie Policy was synchronised with [cookiedatabase.org](https://cookiedatabase.org/) on 5 October 2026. --- ### [Privacy Statement (CA)](https://snorkelventure.com/privacy-statement-ca/) **Published:** July 15, 2026 **Author:** Web Admin **Content:** *This privacy statement was last changed on 29 July 2026, last checked on 29 July 2026, and applies to citizens and legal permanent residents of Canada.* In this privacy statement, we explain what we do with the data we obtain about you via <https://snorkelventure.com>. We recommend you carefully read this statement. In our processing we comply with the requirements of privacy legislation. That means, among other things, that: - we clearly state the purposes for which we process personal data. We do this by means of this privacy statement; - we aim to limit our collection of personal data to only the personal data required for legitimate purposes; - we first request your explicit consent to process your personal data in cases requiring your consent; - we take appropriate security measures to protect your personal data and also require this from parties that process personal data on our behalf; - we respect your right to access your personal data or have it corrected or deleted, at your request. If you have any questions, or want to know exactly what data we keep of you, please contact us. ## 1. Purpose and categories of data We may collect or receive personal information for a number of purposes connected with our business operations which may include the following: (click to expand) ### 1.1 Contact – Through phone, mail, email and/or webforms ### The following categories of data are collected - A first and last name - An email address ### Retention period We retain this data upon termination of the service for the following number of months: 24 ### 1.2 Newsletters ### The following categories of data are collected - A first and last name - An email address ### Retention period We retain this data until the service is terminated. ### 1.3 To support services or products that a customer wants to buy or has purchased ### The following categories of data are collected - A first and last name - An email address ### Retention period We retain this data upon termination of the service for the following number of months: 24 ### 1.4 Compiling and analyzing statistics for website improvement. ### The following categories of data are collected - Internet activity information, including, but not limited to, browsing history, search history, and information regarding a consumer's interaction with an Internet Web site, application, or advertisement ### Retention period We retain this data upon termination of the service for the following number of months: 12 ## 2. Sharing with other parties We only share or disclose this data to other recipients for the following purposes: ## 3. Disclosure practices We disclose personal information if we are required by law or by a court order, in response to a law enforcement agency, to the extent permitted under other provisions of law, to provide information, or for an investigation on a matter related to public safety. If our website or organisation is taken over, sold, or involved in a merger or acquisition, your details may be disclosed to our advisers and any prospective purchasers and will be passed on to the new owners. ## 4. How we respond to Do Not Track signals & Global Privacy Control Our website responds to and supports the Do Not Track (DNT) header request field. If you turn DNT on in your browser, those preferences are communicated to us in the HTTP request header, and we will not track your browsing behavior. ## 5. Cookies Our website uses cookies. For more information about cookies, please refer to our Cookie Policy on our [Cookie Policy (CA)](https://snorkelventure.com/cookie-policy-ca/) webpage. We have concluded a data Processing Agreement with Google. Google may not use the data for any other Google services. The inclusion of full IP addresses is blocked by us. ## 6. Security We are committed to the security of personal data. We take appropriate security measures to limit abuse of and unauthorised access to personal data. This ensures that only the necessary persons have access to your data, that access to the data is protected, and that our security measures are regularly reviewed. The security measures we use consist of: - Login Security - DKIM, SPF, DMARC and other specific DNS settings - (START)TLS / SSL / DANE Encryption - HTTP Strict Transport Security and related Security Headers and Browser Policies - Vulnerability Detection ## 7. Third party websites This privacy statement does not apply to third party websites connected by links on our website. We cannot guarantee that these third parties handle your personal data in a reliable or secure manner. We recommend you read the privacy statements of these websites prior to making use of these websites. ## 8. Amendments to this privacy statement We reserve the right to make amendments to this privacy statement. It is recommended that you consult this privacy statement regularly in order to be aware of any changes. In addition, we will actively inform you wherever possible. ## 9. Accessing and modifying your data If you have any questions or want to know which personal data we have about you, please contact us. Please make sure to always clearly state who you are, so that we can be certain that we do not modify or delete any data of the wrong person. We shall provide the requested information only upon receipt of a verifiable consumer request. You can contact us by using the information below. ### 9.1 You have the following rights with respect to your personal data 1. You may submit a request for access to the data we process about you. 2. You may request an overview, in a commonly used format, of the data we process about you. 3. You may request correction or deletion of the data if it is incorrect or not or no longer relevant. Where appropriate, the amended information shall be transmitted to third parties having access to the information in question. 4. You have the right to withdraw consent at any time, subject to legal or contractual restrictions and reasonable notice. You will be informed of the implications of such withdrawal. 5. You have the right to address a challenge concerning non-compliance with PIPEDA to our organisation and, if the issue is not resolved, to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada. 6. We shall give access to personal information in an alternative format to an individual with a sensory disability who has a right of access to personal information under PIPEDA and who requests that it be transmitted in the alternative format if (a) a version of the information already exists in that format; or (b) its conversion into that format is reasonable and necessary in order for the individual to be able to exercise rights. ## 10. Children Our website is not designed to attract children and it is not our intent to collect personal data from children under the age of consent in their country of residence. We therefore request that children under the age of consent do not submit any personal data to us. ## 11. Contact details Benjamin Stokes Nucleus House 2nd Floor 2 Lower Mortlake Road Richmond TW9 2JA United Kingdom Website: <https://snorkelventure.com> Email: hello@ex.comsnorkelventure.com Phone number: +16504845955 We have appointed a contact person for the organisation’s policies and practices and to whom complaints or inquiries can be forwarded: Benjamin Stokes Nucleus House 2nd Floor 2 Lower Mortlake Road Richmond TW9 2JA --- ### [Privacy Statement (US)](https://snorkelventure.com/privacy-statement-us/) **Published:** July 15, 2026 **Author:** Web Admin **Content:** *This privacy statement was last changed on 29 July 2026, last checked on 29 July 2026, and applies to citizens and legal permanent residents of the United States.* In this privacy statement, we explain what we do with the data we obtain about you via <https://snorkelventure.com>. We recommend you carefully read this statement. In our processing we comply with the requirements of privacy legislation. That means, among other things, that: - we clearly state the purposes for which we process personal data. We do this by means of this privacy statement; - we aim to limit our collection of personal data to only the personal data required for legitimate purposes; - we first request your explicit consent to process your personal data in cases requiring your consent; - we take appropriate security measures to protect your personal data and also require this from parties that process personal data on our behalf; - we respect your right to access your personal data or have it corrected or deleted, at your request. If you have any questions, or want to know exactly what data we keep of you, please contact us. ## 1. Purpose and categories of data We may collect or receive personal information for a number of purposes connected with our business operations which may include the following: (click to expand) ### 1.1 Contact – Through phone, mail, email and/or webforms ### The following categories of data are collected - A first and last name - An email address ### Retention period We retain this data upon termination of the service for the following number of months: 24 ### 1.2 Newsletters ### The following categories of data are collected - A first and last name - An email address ### Retention period We retain this data until the service is terminated. ### 1.3 To support services or products that a customer wants to buy or has purchased ### The following categories of data are collected - A first and last name - An email address ### Retention period We retain this data upon termination of the service for the following number of months: 24 ### 1.4 Compiling and analyzing statistics for website improvement. ### The following categories of data are collected - Internet activity information, including, but not limited to, browsing history, search history, and information regarding a consumer's interaction with an Internet Web site, application, or advertisement ### Retention period We retain this data upon termination of the service for the following number of months: 12 ## 2. Sharing with other parties We only share or disclose this data to other recipients for the following purposes: ## 3. Disclosure practices We disclose personal information if we are required by law or by a court order, in response to a law enforcement agency, to the extent permitted under other provisions of law, to provide information, or for an investigation on a matter related to public safety. If our website or organisation is taken over, sold, or involved in a merger or acquisition, your details may be disclosed to our advisers and any prospective purchasers and will be passed on to the new owners. ## 4. How we respond to Do Not Track signals & Global Privacy Control Our website responds to and supports the Do Not Track (DNT) header request field. If you turn DNT on in your browser, those preferences are communicated to us in the HTTP request header, and we will not track your browsing behavior. ## 5. Cookies Our website uses cookies. For more information about cookies, please refer to our Cookie Policy on our [Opt-out preferences](https://snorkelventure.com/opt-out-preferences/) webpage. We have concluded a data processing agreement with Google. Google may not use the data for any other Google services. The inclusion of full IP addresses is blocked by us. ## 6. Security We are committed to the security of personal data. We take appropriate security measures to limit abuse of and unauthorized access to personal data. This ensures that only the necessary persons have access to your data, that access to the data is protected, and that our security measures are regularly reviewed. The security measures we use consist of: - Login Security - DKIM, SPF, DMARC and other specific DNS settings - (START)TLS / SSL / DANE Encryption - HTTP Strict Transport Security and related Security Headers and Browser Policies - Vulnerability Detection ## 7. Third-party websites This privacy statement does not apply to third-party websites connected by links on our website. We cannot guarantee that these third parties handle your personal data in a reliable or secure manner. We recommend you read the privacy statements of these websites prior to making use of these websites. ## 8. Amendments to this privacy statement We reserve the right to make amendments to this privacy statement. It is recommended that you consult this privacy statement regularly in order to be aware of any changes. In addition, we will actively inform you wherever possible. ## 9. Accessing and modifying your data If you have any questions or want to know which personal data we have about you, please contact us. Please make sure to always clearly state who you are, so that we can be certain that we do not modify or delete any data of the wrong person. We shall provide the requested information only upon receipt of a verifiable consumer request. You can contact us by using the information below. You have the following rights: ### 9.1 You have the following rights with respect to your personal data 1. You may submit a request for access to the data we process about you. 2. You may object to the processing. 3. You may request an overview, in a commonly used format, of the data we process about you. 4. You may request correction or deletion of the data if it is incorrect or not or no longer relevant, or to ask to restrict the processing of the data. 5. You may appeal our decision whenever we refuse to take action on a request and submit a complaint with the competent authority if your appeal is denied. ### 9.2 Supplements This section, which supplements the rest of this Privacy Statement, applies to citizens and legal permanent residents of California (CPRA) ### California #### Right to know what personal information is being collected about you A consumer shall have the right to request that a business that collects personal information about the consumer disclose to the consumer the following: 1. The categories of personal information it has collected about that consumer. 2. The categories of sources from which the personal information is collected. 3. The business or commercial purpose for collecting or selling personal information. 4. The categories of third parties with whom the business shares personal information. 5. The specific pieces of personal information it has collected about that consumer. #### The right to know whether personal information is sold or disclosed and to whom A consumer shall have the right to request that a business that sells the consumer’s personal information, or that discloses it for a business purpose, disclose to that consumer: 1. The categories of personal information that the business collected about the consumer. 2. The categories of personal information that the business sold about the consumer and the categories of third parties to whom the personal information was sold, by category or categories of personal information for each third party to whom the personal information was sold. 3. The categories of personal information that the business disclosed about the consumer for a business purpose. #### The Right to equal service and price, even if you exercise your privacy rights A consumer shall have the right to request that a business delete any personal information about the consumer which the business has collected from the consumer. A business that receives a verifiable request from a consumer to delete the consumer’s personal information pursuant to subdivision (a) of this section shall delete the consumer’s personal information from its records and direct any service providers to delete the consumer’s personal information from their records. A business or a service provider shall not be required to comply with a consumer’s request to delete the consumer’s personal information if it is necessary for the business or service provider to maintain the consumer’s personal information in order to: 1. Complete the transaction for which the personal information was collected, provide a good or service requested by the consumer, or reasonably anticipated within the context of a business’s ongoing business relationship with the consumer, or otherwise perform a contract between the business and the consumer. 2. Detect security incidents, protect against malicious, deceptive, fraudulent, or illegal activity; or prosecute those responsible for that activity. 3. Debug to identify and repair errors that impair existing intended functionality. 4. Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise his or her right of free speech, or exercise another right provided for by law. 5. Comply with the California Electronic Communications Privacy Act pursuant to Chapter 3.6 (commencing with Section 1546) of Title 12 of Part 2 of the Penal Code. 6. Engage in public or peer-reviewed scientific, historical, or statistical research in the public interest that adheres to all other applicable ethics and privacy laws, when the businesses’ deletion of the information is likely to render impossible or seriously impair the achievement of such research, if the consumer has provided informed consent. 7. Exercise free speech, ensure the right of another consumer to exercise his or her right of free speech, or exercise another right provided for by law. 8. To enable solely internal uses that are reasonably aligned with the expectations of the consumer based on the consumer’s relationship with the business. 9. Comply with a legal obligation. 10. Otherwise use the consumer’s personal information, internally, in a lawful manner that is compatible with the context in which the consumer provided the information. #### Right to opt-out You may submit a request directing us not to make certain disclosures of personal information we maintain about you. For more information about the possibility of submitting an opt-out request, please refer to our Opt-out preferences page. #### Financial incentives #### Selling of personal data to third parties We have not sold consumers’ personal data in the preceding 12 months We have not disclosed consumers’ personal information for a business purpose in the preceding 12 months. - Internet activity information, including, but not limited to, browsing history, search history, and information regarding a consumer's interaction with an Internet Web site, application, or advertisement ## 10. Children Our website is not designed to attract children and it is not our intent to collect personal data from children under the age of consent in their country of residence. We therefore request that children under the age of consent do not submit any personal data to us. ## 11. Contact details Benjamin Stokes Nucleus House 2nd Floor 2 Lower Mortlake Road Richmond TW9 2JA United Kingdom Website: <https://snorkelventure.com> Email: hello@ex.comsnorkelventure.com Phone number: +16504845955 --- ### [Privacy Statement (EU)](https://snorkelventure.com/privacy-statement-eu/) **Published:** July 15, 2026 **Author:** Web Admin **Content:** *This privacy statement was last updated on 29 July 2026 and applies to citizens and legal permanent residents of the European Economic Area and Switzerland.* In this privacy statement, we explain what we do with the data we obtain about you via <https://snorkelventure.com>. We recommend you carefully read this statement. In our processing we comply with the requirements of privacy legislation. That means, among other things, that: - we clearly state the purposes for which we process personal data. We do this by means of this privacy statement; - we aim to limit our collection of personal data to only the personal data required for legitimate purposes; - we first request your explicit consent to process your personal data in cases requiring your consent; - we take appropriate security measures to protect your personal data and also require this from parties that process personal data on our behalf; - we respect your right to access your personal data or have it corrected or deleted, at your request. If you have any questions, or want to know exactly what data we keep of you, please contact us. ## 1. Purpose, data and retention period We may collect or receive personal information for a number of purposes connected with our business operations which may include the following: (click to expand) ### 1.1 Contact – Through phone, mail, email and/or webforms ### For this purpose we use the following data: - A first and last name - An email address ### The basis on which we may process these data is: [It is necessary for the execution of a contract or preliminary procedures related to a contract to which the data subject is a party. ](https://cookiedatabase.org/legal-bases/#agreement) ### Retention period We retain this data upon termination of the service for the following number of months: 24 ### 1.2 Newsletters ### For this purpose we use the following data: - A first and last name - An email address ### The basis on which we may process these data is: [It is necessary for the execution of a contract or preliminary procedures related to a contract to which the data subject is a party. ](https://cookiedatabase.org/legal-bases/#agreement) ### Retention period We retain this data until the service is terminated. ### 1.3 To support services or products that a customer wants to buy or has purchased ### For this purpose we use the following data: - A first and last name - An email address ### The basis on which we may process these data is: [It is necessary for the execution of a contract or preliminary procedures related to a contract to which the data subject is a party. ](https://cookiedatabase.org/legal-bases/#agreement) ### Retention period We retain this data upon termination of the service for the following number of months: 24 ### 1.4 Compiling and analyzing statistics for website improvement. ### For this purpose we use the following data: - Internet activity information, including, but not limited to, browsing history, search history, and information regarding a consumer's interaction with an Internet Web site, application, or advertisement ### The basis on which we may process these data is: [Upon the provision of consent.](https://cookiedatabase.org/legal-bases/#consent) ### Retention period We retain this data upon termination of the service for the following number of months: 12 ## 2. Sharing with other parties We only share or disclose this data to processors for the following purposes: ## 3. Cookies Our website uses cookies. For more information about cookies, please refer to our [Cookie Policy](https://snorkelventure.com/cookie-policy-eu/). ## 4. Disclosure practices We disclose personal information if we are required by law or by a court order, in response to a law enforcement agency, to the extent permitted under other provisions of law, to provide information, or for an investigation on a matter related to public safety. If our website or organisation is taken over, sold, or involved in a merger or acquisition, your details may be disclosed to our advisers and any prospective purchasers and will be passed on to the new owners. We have concluded a data Processing Agreement with Google. Google may not use the data for any other Google services. The inclusion of full IP addresses is blocked by us. ## 5. Security We are committed to the security of personal data. We take appropriate security measures to limit abuse of and unauthorised access to personal data. This ensures that only the necessary persons have access to your data, that access to the data is protected, and that our security measures are regularly reviewed. The security measures we use consist of: - Login Security - DKIM, SPF, DMARC and other specific DNS settings - (START)TLS / SSL / DANE Encryption - HTTP Strict Transport Security and related Security Headers and Browser Policies - Vulnerability Detection ## 6. Third-party websites This privacy statement does not apply to third-party websites connected by links on our website. We cannot guarantee that these third parties handle your personal data in a reliable or secure manner. We recommend you read the privacy statements of these websites prior to making use of these websites. ## 7. Amendments to this privacy statement We reserve the right to make amendments to this privacy statement. It is recommended that you consult this privacy statement regularly in order to be aware of any changes. In addition, we will actively inform you wherever possible. ## 8. Accessing and modifying your data If you have any questions or want to know which personal data we have about you, please contact us. You can contact us by using the information below. You have the following rights: - You have the right to know why your personal data is needed, what will happen to it, and how long it will be retained for. - Right of access: You have the right to access your personal data that is known to us. - Right to rectification: you have the right to supplement, correct, have deleted or blocked your personal data whenever you wish. - If you give us your consent to process your data, you have the right to revoke that consent and to have your personal data deleted. - Right to transfer your data: you have the right to request all your personal data from the controller and transfer it in its entirety to another controller. - Right to object: you may object to the processing of your data. We comply with this, unless there are justified grounds for processing. Please make sure to always clearly state who you are, so that we can be certain that we do not modify or delete any data of the wrong person. ## 9. Submitting a complaint If you are not satisfied with the way in which we handle (a complaint about) the processing of your personal data, you have the right to submit a complaint to the Data Protection Authority. ## 10. Contact details Benjamin Stokes Nucleus House 2nd Floor 2 Lower Mortlake Road Richmond TW9 2JA United Kingdom Website: <https://snorkelventure.com> Email: hello@ex.comsnorkelventure.com Phone number: +16504845955 --- ### [Privacy Statement (UK)](https://snorkelventure.com/privacy-statement-uk/) **Published:** July 15, 2026 **Author:** Web Admin **Content:** *This privacy statement was last updated on 29 July 2026 and applies to citizens and legal permanent residents of the United Kingdom.* In this privacy statement, we explain what we do with the data we obtain about you via <https://snorkelventure.com>. We recommend you carefully read this statement. In our processing we comply with the requirements of privacy legislation. That means, among other things, that: - we clearly state the purposes for which we process personal data. We do this by means of this privacy statement; - we aim to limit our collection of personal data to only the personal data required for legitimate purposes; - we first request your explicit consent to process your personal data in cases requiring your consent; - we take appropriate security measures to protect your personal data and also require this from parties that process personal data on our behalf; - we respect your right to access your personal data or have it corrected or deleted, at your request. If you have any questions, or want to know exactly what data we keep of you, please contact us. ## 1. Purpose, data and retention period We may collect or receive personal information for a number of purposes connected with our business operations which may include the following: (click to expand) ### 1.1 Contact – Through phone, mail, email and/or webforms ### For this purpose we use the following data: - A first and last name - An email address ### The basis on which we may process these data is: [It is necessary for the execution of a contract or preliminary procedures related to a contract to which the data subject is a party. ](https://cookiedatabase.org/legal-bases/#agreement) ### Retention period We retain this data upon termination of the service for the following number of months: 24 ### 1.2 Newsletters ### For this purpose we use the following data: - A first and last name - An email address ### The basis on which we may process these data is: [It is necessary for the execution of a contract or preliminary procedures related to a contract to which the data subject is a party. ](https://cookiedatabase.org/legal-bases/#agreement) ### Retention period We retain this data until the service is terminated. ### 1.3 To support services or products that a customer wants to buy or has purchased ### For this purpose we use the following data: - A first and last name - An email address ### The basis on which we may process these data is: [It is necessary for the execution of a contract or preliminary procedures related to a contract to which the data subject is a party. ](https://cookiedatabase.org/legal-bases/#agreement) ### Retention period We retain this data upon termination of the service for the following number of months: 24 ### 1.4 Compiling and analyzing statistics for website improvement. ### For this purpose we use the following data: - Internet activity information, including, but not limited to, browsing history, search history, and information regarding a consumer's interaction with an Internet Web site, application, or advertisement ### The basis on which we may process these data is: [Upon the provision of consent.](https://cookiedatabase.org/legal-bases/#consent) ### Retention period We retain this data upon termination of the service for the following number of months: 12 ## 2. Sharing with other parties We only share or disclose this data to processors for the following purposes: ## 3. Cookies Our website uses cookies. For more information about cookies, please refer to our [Cookie Policy](https://snorkelventure.com/cookie-policy-uk/). ## 4. Disclosure practices We disclose personal information if we are required by law or by a court order, in response to a law enforcement agency, to the extent permitted under other provisions of law, to provide information, or for an investigation on a matter related to public safety. If our website or organisation is taken over, sold, or involved in a merger or acquisition, your details may be disclosed to our advisers and any prospective purchasers and will be passed on to the new owners. We have concluded a data processing agreement with Google. Google may not use the data for any other Google services. The inclusion of full IP addresses is blocked by us. ## 5. Security We are committed to the security of personal data. We take appropriate security measures to limit abuse of and unauthorised access to personal data. This ensures that only the necessary persons have access to your data, that access to the data is protected, and that our security measures are regularly reviewed. The security measures we use consist of: - Login Security - DKIM, SPF, DMARC and other specific DNS settings - (START)TLS / SSL / DANE Encryption - HTTP Strict Transport Security and related Security Headers and Browser Policies - Vulnerability Detection ## 6. Third-party websites This privacy statement does not apply to third-party websites connected by links on our website. We cannot guarantee that these third parties handle your personal data in a reliable or secure manner. We recommend you read the privacy statements of these websites prior to making use of these websites. ## 7. Amendments to this privacy statement We reserve the right to make amendments to this privacy statement. It is recommended that you consult this privacy statement regularly in order to be aware of any changes. In addition, we will actively inform you wherever possible. ## 8. Accessing and modifying your data If you have any questions or want to know which personal data we have about you, please contact us. You can contact us by using the information below. You have the following rights: - You have the right to know why your personal data is needed, what will happen to it, and how long it will be retained for. - Right of access: You have the right to access your personal data that is known to us. - Right to rectification: you have the right to supplement, correct, have deleted or blocked your personal data whenever you wish. - If you give us your consent to process your data, you have the right to revoke that consent and to have your personal data deleted. - Right to transfer your data: you have the right to request all your personal data from the controller and transfer it in its entirety to another controller. - Right to object: you may object to the processing of your data. We comply with this, unless there are justified grounds for processing. Please make sure to always clearly state who you are, so that we can be certain that we do not modify or delete any data of the wrong person. ## 9. Submitting a complaint If you are not satisfied with the way in which we handle (a complaint about) the processing of your personal data, you have the right to submit a complaint to the Information Commissioner’s Office: Wycliffe House Water Lane Wilmslow Cheshire SK9 5AF ## 10. Children Our website is not designed to attract children and it is not our intent to collect personal data from children under the age of consent in their country of residence. We therefore request that children under the age of consent do not submit any personal data to us. ## 11. Contact details Benjamin Stokes Nucleus House 2nd Floor 2 Lower Mortlake Road Richmond TW9 2JA United Kingdom Website: <https://snorkelventure.com> Email: hello@ex.comsnorkelventure.com Phone number: +16504845955 --- ### [Privacy Policy](https://snorkelventure.com/privacy-policy-2/) **Published:** April 6, 2021 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** **Privacy Policy** **Why do we have this policy?** At Snorkel Venture we respect the personal information we hold about our clients and we take the security of that information very seriously. This policy sets out the sort of information we ask for, why we ask for it, and how we use it. **What information do we collect about you and why? ∙ If you order a brochure or newsletter we will ask for your name, address and e-mail address. This is so we can effectively e-mail or post out the requested items. ∙ If you submit a holiday enquiry form we will ask for your name, telephone number and e-mail address. This is so we can effectively respond to your request. ∙ If you enter a competition or promotion we will ask for your name, address and e-mail address. This is so we can run the competition effectively and let you know if you have won or allow you to participate in the promotion. If we would like to use the personal data you have provided for any purpose in addition to the specific competition or promotion, we will make this clear and seek your specific consent to this. ∙ If you want to make a booking with us, we will ask for the personal information of all persons travelling. This is likely to include the personal data set out above. This is required so that we can make and provide your holiday arrangements. ∙ If you submit a CV to us, we will ask for your name and email address in order to effectively respond to your application ∙ If you submit feedback to us, we will ask for your name and email address in order to effectively respond to your feedback. **How do we collect personal information?** You may volunteer this information when you request information from us, contact us (and vice versa), make a booking, register interest for and/or enter a competition, subscribe to one of our newsletters, use our website(s)/apps, link to or from our website(s)/apps, connect with us via social media, by speaking to a consultant in-store or any other engagement we or our business partners have with you. We will update your information whenever we can to keep it current, accurate and complete. You represent and warrant to us that you have obtained all required consents and are fully authorized to disclose all personal information you provide to us including without limitation personal information of your friends and family members provided in connection with making travel bookings. **How long do we keep your personal information for?** We will only hold your personal information for such time as is reasonably necessary to carry out the services we have agreed to provide you with, to satisfy any legal & tax requirements, and also to service our relationship with you as a tour operator providing bespoke travel arrangements. **Trans-Border Data Flows** When you provide, or otherwise allow us to collect, your personal information, you consent to your personal information being disclosed to relevant related overseas entities and third party overseas recipients, as set out below. In providing our services to you, it may be necessary for us to disclose personal information to relevant overseas entities. For instance, we may need to disclose personal information to our related overseas entities in order to respond to your enquiry. We may also need to disclose personal information to overseas recipients other than our related overseas entities (third party overseas recipients), such as relevant overseas travel service providers for the purpose of arranging your booking with them. Where we disclose your personal information to a third party overseas recipient, your personal information will generally be received in the country in which the recipient will provide the services to you or in which their business is based. Unless otherwise contemplated herein or otherwise permitted or required by applicable law, we will only disclose your personal information to these overseas recipients in connection with facilitation of your travel booking and/or to enable the performance of administrative and technical services by them on our behalf. We deal with many different service providers all over the world, so it is not possible for us to set out in this Policy all of the different countries to which we may send your personal information. However, if you have any specific questions about where or to whom your personal information will be sent, please contact us in writing using the contact details below. **What are your rights?** At any time you have the following rights and on giving us the appropriate notice you are entitled to: (i) request a copy of the personal information that we hold; (ii) request that your personal information be corrected where inaccurate or incomplete; (iii) request that your personal information be deleted, or that we stop using your personal information where it is no longer necessary (the right to be forgotten); (iv) request that we stop sending you direct marketing communications. Alternatively you can always opt out of receiving our monthly newsletter by using the unsubscribe button at the bottom of the newsletter. **What about the use of cookies and third party websites?** Our website, like many similar websites, uses cookies which are small files that are placed on your device by our website in order to collect information about your visit and to remember you when you return to our site. These cookies are intended to enhance your experience when visiting, or revisiting, our website – for example by helping you find the right sort of tour, or holiday, that you are looking for. The cookies we use are ‘analytical’ cookies and, as well as ensuring that our website offers the best possible service to you, they also allow us to recognise and count the number of visitors to our website and to see how visitors move around the site when they’re using it. All of which is incredibly useful for understanding what visitors require from us and ultimately for improving the functionality of our website. Please note that by using our website you consent to our use of cookies. However please also note that our cookie software does not collect personal information such as your name, address or email, and at any time you can remove these cookies from your device by changing the settings in your web browser. From time to time we may also work with third parties, or social media platforms, who will collect non personal information (such as an IP address) to analyse website visits. In the course of doing so, these third parties may place their own cookies on your device so that they can collect information about your visit. Again you can remove or disable any such cookies through the settings on your web browser. Our website may contain links to third party websites that are not covered by this Privacy Policy. If you do click through to these websites, using the links provided, the owners of these sites may collect information from you that will be used by them in accordance with their own privacy policy, which may well differ from ours. It is your responsibility to check the privacy policy of these sites before using them. **When was this policy last updated?** This Privacy Policy was last updated in May 2018. Any changes to this Policy will be posted on our website and / or made available on request. **How can you contact us?** If you have any questions about this Privacy Policy, or the personal information we hold, you can get in contact with us as follows: ∙ By phone: +44 7583 867542 ∙ By email: hello@snorkelventure.com ∙ Nucleus House, 2nd Floor, 2 Lower Mortlake Road, Richmond, TW9 2JA --- ### [Snorkel Venture Rash Guard Order Form](https://snorkelventure.com/rashguard-order-form/) **Published:** July 13, 2021 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** **![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Screenshot-2020-06-07-at-18.51.44-e1591552355354-1.png)** Price – 60 USD (includes US shipping) *50% of funds received are sent to Misool Foundation, helping to protect Raja Ampat Reefs –* [click here for details](https://snorkelventure.com/misool-foundation/) Please carefully complete the following order below. We will send a request for payment by card with a review of your order and upon payment your rash guard will be shipped for delivery. **MEASURING** Measure the body without baselayers using a tape measure: **Chest** around widest point **Waist** around narrowest point **Women’s Size Chart in Inches** | Small | Chest 32 – 35 \| Waist 25 – 28 | |---|---| | Medium | Chest 34 – 37 \| Waist 27 – 31 | | Large | Chest 36 – 40 \| Waist 30 – 33 | | XL | Chest 39 – 42 \| Waist 32 – 35 | | XXL | Chest 41 – 44 \| Waist 35 – 48 | **Men’s Size Chart in Inches** | Small | Chest 34 – 38 \| Waist 27 – 31 | |---|---| | Medium | Chest 38 – 42 \| Waist 31 – 35 | | Large | Chest 42 – 46 \| Waist 35 – 39 | | XL | Chest 46 – 50 \| Waist 39 – 43 | | XXL | Chest 50 – 54 \| Waist 43 – 47 | Your name Your email Select your size (please carefully review the chart above) Womens SmallWomens MediumWomens LargeWomens XLWomens XXLMens SmallMens MediumMen XLMens XXL If you would like to order another item choose your size here I'm only ordering one itemWomens SmallWomens MediumWomens LargeWomens XLWomens XXLMens SmallMens LargeMens MediumMen XLMens XXL Your full address --- ### [Booking Terms and Conditions](https://snorkelventure.com/booking-terms-and-conditions/) **Published:** December 8, 2023 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** **Booking Terms and Conditions** **Snorkel Venture** **USA & International** These Booking Conditions (“Terms and Conditions”), together with our privacy policy and, where your tour is booked via our website, our website terms and conditions of use, supplier terms and conditions, together with any other written information we brought to your attention before we confirmed your booking, form the basis of your contract with Snorkel Venture, (“Snorkel Venture” “we” or “us”) of Nucleus House, 2nd Floor, 2 Lower Mortlake Road, Richmond, TW9 2JA. Please read them carefully as they set out our respective rights and obligations in booking with Snorkel Venture. **1. Contract** In these Booking Conditions references to “you” and “your” include the first named person on the booking and all persons on whose behalf a booking is made or any other person to whom a booking is added or transferred. Please be aware that these Terms and Conditions contain waivers of liability. By making a booking, the first named person on the booking agrees on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking that: a. He/she has read these Terms and Conditions and has the authority to and does agree to be bound by them; b. He/she consents to our use of information in accordance with our Privacy Policy; c. He/she is over 18 years of age and where placing an order for services with age restrictions declares that he/she and all members of the party are of the appropriate age to purchase those services; d. he/she accepts financial responsibility for payment of the booking on behalf of all persons detailed on the booking; and e. the information provided by you, or members of your group, is true and correct. If you are making a booking as a group, you, as the first named person on the booking (“Lead Guest”), are responsible for sharing these Terms and Conditions together with any other supplier terms and conditions, confirmations, Privacy Policy and any other documentation relevant to your booking with us with all members of your group and you, as the Lead Guest, are financially responsible for the booking(s). We shall not be liable for your failure to share these Terms and Conditions with your group. You hereby agree that any violation of these Terms and Conditions may result in cancellation of your reservation or purchase, the forfeiture of any monies paid towards your reservation or purchase, and you being denied access to the applicable travel related products or services. We shall have sole discretion in applying any, or all of the consequences listed above for any violation of these Terms and Conditions. **2. Booking and Paying for Your Arrangements** A booking is made with us when you a) tell us that you would like to accept our written or verbal quotation; b) pay us a deposit (or full payment if you are booking within 90 days of departure); and c) we issue you with a booking confirmation. We reserve the right to return your deposit and decline to issue a confirmation at our absolute discretion. A binding contract will come into existence between you and us as soon as we have issued you with a booking confirmation that will confirm the details of your booking. While we do accept major credit cards including Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Discover, travelers must provide to us an authorization for every transaction for your tour. Your authorization is an agreement for us and/or the supplier to charge your card and an acknowledgement and agreement to these Terms and Conditions including the cancellation terms. As such you agree not to make any improper chargebacks. In certain cases, you can dispute charges with credit card companies (“chargebacks”). Before initiating a chargeback, we ask that you first contact us to discuss any questions or concerns about your charges. We will work with you to resolve your concerns. By using our service to make your booking, you accept and agree to our cancellation policy. We retain the right to dispute a chargeback that is improper and recover costs, including attorneys’ fees related to improper chargebacks. In the event of a chargeback, we retain the right to cancel any booking related to the chargeback. The following chargeback scenarios are improper, and we retain the right to investigate and rebut any such chargeback claims: 1. Chargebacks resulting from non-cancellable reservations, whether or not the reservation is used; 2. Chargebacks resulting from charges authorized by family, friends, associates, or other third parties with direct access to your credit card or credit card information. This does not include credit card fraud; 3. Chargebacks arising from inconsistency or inaccuracy with regard to the supplier’s or our travel product or service description; 4. Chargebacks resulting from force majeure or other circumstances that are out of Snorkel Venture’s control; and 5. Chargebacks resulting because you do not agree with the cancellation policy. **2.1 Rate Changes & Accuracy.** The prices shown in our tour descriptions for resort and liveaboard stays are subject to change. We will quote you the price applicable to your chosen tour, based on your chosen arrangements, at the time of booking. You will have the option to accept or decline our quotation before your booking is confirmed by us. We endeavour to ensure that all the information and prices both on our website and in any brochures we publish are accurate, however, occasionally changes and errors occur, and we reserve the right to correct prices and other details in such circumstances. You must check the current price and all other details relating to the arrangements that you wish to book before your booking is confirmed. **2.2 Deposits.** As noted above, to confirm a reservation of arrangements a deposit is required. A deposit is a partial payment of the initial tour cost and is required to confirm your booking with us. This will usually be (but is not limited to) between 10% – 30% of the total price of your chosen arrangements. Generally, the deposit is $400.00 or $800.00 depending on the tour. If our suppliers require a larger deposit, we reserve the right to increase the deposit amount, you will be notified of this in advance. **2.3 Final Payment.** The balance of the tour cost must be received by us not less than 90 days prior to the departure date. This final due date will be shown on the confirmation invoice. Reminders shall not be sent. If we do not receive all payments due (including any surcharge where applicable) in full and on time, we reserve the right to treat your booking as canceled by you in which case the cancellation charges set out in Section 8 of these Terms and Conditions will become payable. **2.4 Special Requests.** Any special requests must be advised to us at the time of booking. Examples include special dietary restrictions, room location, a particular facility at a hotel etc. You should then confirm your requests in writing by email to: ben@snorkelventure.com. Whilst every effort will be made by us to try and arrange your reasonable special requests, we cannot guarantee that they will be fulfilled. The fact that a special request has been noted on your confirmation invoice or any other documentation or that it has been passed on to the supplier is not confirmation that the request will be met. Failure to meet any special request will not be a breach of contract on our part, or on part of any supplier unless the request has been specifically guaranteed. We do not accept bookings that are conditional upon any special request being met. **2.5 Medical Conditions and Disabilities.** It is essential that you advise us before booking with us if you have any medical condition, disability or pre-existing condition(s) (including, but not limited to pregnancy) which may affect your tour, or if you have any special requirements as a result of a medical condition or disability. We will do our utmost to cater for any special requirements you, or anyone in your travel party may have. If you or any member of your party has any medical problem or disability which may affect your tour, please provide us with full details before we confirm your booking so that we can try to advise you as to the suitability of your chosen arrangements. We may require you to produce a doctor’s certificate certifying that you are fit to participate in the tour. Acting reasonably, if we are unable to properly accommodate the needs of the person(s) concerned, we will not confirm your booking or if you did not give us full details at the time of booking, we may cancel your tour and impose applicable cancellation charges when we become aware of these details. If you have a specific medical or mobility concern or requirements, you must advise us prior to booking and confirm the details of your requirements in writing in order to ensure that your tour is suitable for your needs. Please advise us of any mobility or medical requirements via email to: ben@snorkelventure.com. You will be contacted by a member of our team to discuss and confirm the suitability of your proposed trip prior to booking. We cannot accept any responsibility or liability if you fail to advise us of your requirements and it transpires that your trip is unsuitable for your needs, or you are unable to travel as a result. Our suppliers are unable to offer additional assistance to travelers with limited mobility and all such assistance will need to be provided by whoever the person is traveling with. Travelers with disabilities must notify Snorkel Venture at the time of booking of the status and identity of their non-discounted, paid travel companion who will be responsible for providing all necessary assistance. **3. Insurance** Adequate travel insurance is a condition of your contract with us. You must be satisfied that your insurance fully covers you and your party against all of your personal requirements including the cost of cancelation by you, the cost of assistance (including repatriation) in the event of accident or illness, loss of baggage and money and other relevant expenses. If you fail to travel with adequate insurance coverage, we will not be liable for any losses in respect of which insurance coverage would otherwise have been available. **4. Pricing** The price of your travel arrangements has been calculated using exchange rates quoted on Oanda (http://www.oanda.com/currency/converter/) on the date of email when the quotation was provided, in relation to the following currencies: Euro and Dollar. Currency conversion rates can change daily, and even hourly, accordingly the price quoted may differ from the final price based on the timing of the booking and currency exchange rate at the time of booking. We reserve the right to amend the price of an unsold tour at any time and correct errors in the prices of confirmed tours. The price of your confirmed tour is subject at all times to variations in: i. transportation costs, including the cost of fuel; or ii. dues, taxes or fees chargeable for services such as landing taxes or embarkation or disembarkation fees at ports and airports; or iii. the exchange rates used to calculate your arrangements. Such variations could include but are not limited to airline cost changes which are part of our contracts with airlines (and their agents), cruise ship operators and any other transport providers. If the price changes, we will pay any increase up to an equivalent of 2% of the price of your travel arrangements which excludes insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. You agree to be charged for the amount over and above the 2% increase, plus an administration charge of $1.50 per person together with an amount to cover agents’ commission. If in total, the increase means that you have to pay an increase of more than 10% of the price of your confirmed travel arrangements (excluding any insurance premiums, amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements), you will have the option of accepting the increase and paying the difference, changing to another tour, based upon availability or canceling and receiving a full refund of all monies paid to us, except for any insurance premiums and any amendment charges and/or additional services or travel arrangements. Any replacement tour offered by us will be of equivalent or higher quality and if it is of lower quality, you will be refunded the difference in price, should you decide to cancel for this reason, you must exercise your right to do so within 14 days from the issue date printed on your final invoice. If you have obtained travel insurance protection, you may be able to recover any deposits, payments or fees paid toward your tour by contacting your travel insurance company directly. Should the price of your tour go down due to the changes mentioned above, by more than 2% of your confirmed tour cost, then any refund due will be paid to you. There will be no change made to the price of your confirmed tour within 30 days of your departure nor will refunds be paid during this period. **7. Changes by You** If you wish to change any part of your booking arrangements after our confirmation invoice has been issued, you must inform us in writing as soon as possible. This should be done by the Lead Guest. Whilst we will do our best to assist, we cannot guarantee that we will be able to meet your requested change. Where we can meet a request, all changes will be subject to payment of an administration fee of $150 per person per change as well as any applicable rate changes or extra costs incurred as well as any costs incurred by us, and any costs or charges incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers. You should be aware that these costs could increase the closer to the departure date that changes are made, and you should contact us as soon as possible. Where we are unable to assist you and you do not wish to proceed with the original booking, we will treat this as a cancellation by you. A cancellation fee may be payable. If you are prevented from traveling it may be possible to transfer your booking to another suitable person provided that written notice is given. An administration fee will be charged, details are available upon request. If any member of your party is prevented from traveling, that person(s) may transfer their place to someone else (introduced by you, satisfying all the conditions applicable to the arrangements and acceptable by us) providing we are notified not less than 28 days before departure and you pay an amendment fee of $150 per person transferring, meet all costs and charges incurred by us and/or incurred or imposed by any of our suppliers and the transferee agrees to these booking conditions and all other terms of the contract between us. We shall have every right and the sole discretion in determining whether the proposed transferred traveler is eligible to book with us and we shall not be liable for any denial of a proposed traveler as your replacement. If you are unable to find a replacement, cancellation charges as set out in Section 8 will apply in order to cover our estimated costs. Otherwise, no refunds will be given for passengers not traveling or for unused services. Note: Certain arrangements may not be amended or transferred after they have been confirmed and any alteration could incur a cancelation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements. **8. Cancelation by You** If you or any member of your party decides to cancel your confirmed booking, you must notify us in writing. Your notice of canceling will only take effect when it is received in writing to us by email to ben@snorkelventure.com. Please address your notice to Ben Stokes. Any notices received shall be effective from the date on which we receive it. We recommend that you use recorded delivery when your notice is mailed. Since we incur costs in canceling your arrangements, you will have to pay the applicable cancellation charges up to the maximum shown below. The cancellation charge detailed is calculated on the basis of the total cost payable by the person(s) canceling excluding insurance premiums and amendment charges which are not refundable in the event of the person(s) to whom they apply canceling: | Period before departure within which notification of cancelation is received by us | Amount of cancelation charge | |---|---| | 90 days or more | Loss of all deposit & interim payments | | 90 – 28 days | 75% of cost of arrangements canceled | | Less than 28 days | 100% of cost of arrangements canceled | We will deduct the cancellation charge(s) from any monies you have already paid to us. Certain arrangements may not be amended after they have been confirmed and any alteration or cancellation could incur a cancellation charge of up to 100% of that part of the arrangements in addition to the charge above. If the reason for your cancellation is covered under the terms of your insurance policy, you may be able to reclaim these charges through your insurance carrier. If you are forced to return home early, or leave the tour for any purpose (including, but not limited to, medical, inability to complete the tour, or because you have been terminated from the tour), we will not provide any refund for any services used or unused. We will not be liable for any additional expenses or associated costs you may incur resulting from your early departure from the tour. Depending on the circumstances, your travel insurance may offer cover for curtailment, and we suggest that any claim is made directly with them. **9. Changes or Cancelations by Snorkel Venture** As we plan your tour arrangements many months in advance, we may occasionally have to make changes or cancel your booking and we reserve the right to do so at any time. **9.1 Changes.** If we, or our suppliers make a major change to your tour, we will inform you as soon as reasonably possible if there is time before your departure. Occasionally we may have to make a major change to your confirmed arrangements. Examples of “major changes” include but are not limited to the following, when made before departure: ● A change of accommodation area for the whole or a significant part of your time away; ● A change of accommodation to that of a lower standard or classification for the whole or a significant part of your time away; ● A change of outward departure time or overall length of your arrangements of twelve or more hours; ● A significant change to your itinerary, missing out one or more destinations entirely. From time to time, we or our suppliers may need to make minor changes to your booking. Examples of minor changes include, but are not limited to: ● Alteration of your outward/return flights by less than 12 hours; ● Changes to aircraft type; ● Change of accommodation to another of the same or higher standard; and/or ● Changes of carriers. If you (or any member of your party) miss your flight or other transportation arrangement, or if it is cancelled or you are subject to a delay of over three (3) hours for any reason, you must contact us and any other transportation supplier concerned immediately so we can work to adjust, or accommodate any changes. While we will do our best to try and make proper accommodations for you (and your travel party), we cannot guarantee we will be able to adjust the itinerary for you. We shall not be liable to you for any costs or expenses incurred as a result of your missed flight or any missed arrangements you made outside of the tour. **9.2 Cancelation.** We will not cancel your travel arrangements less than sixty (60) days prior to your departure date, except for reasons of force majeure (as set forth in Section 10) or failure by you to pay the final payment. We may cancel your tour before this date if, e.g., the minimum number of travelers required for a particular travel arrangement is not reached. For all major changes and cancellations, we will inform you as soon as possible and if there is time to do so before departure, we will offer you the choice of: 1. Accepting the changed arrangements; 2. Receiving a full refund of all monies paid; or 3. Accepting an offer of alternative travel arrangements of comparable standard by us, based onavailability. If the price difference for the alternative is lower, we will refund you the price difference. You must notify us of your choice within seven (7) days of our offer for alternative booking arrangements. If you fail to do so we will assume that you have chosen to accept the change or alternative booking arrangements. **9.3 Insurance** If we cancel your booking with us, you may be entitled monies paid via the travel insurance protection policy that you purchased. To do so, you would need to contact the insurance carrier. We shall have no liability for any claims submitted under your travel insurance policy and have no authority to determine whether you are eligible to receive any payments from the insurance carrier due to a cancellation of your tour. **9.4 Compensation** If we cancel your tour or make a major change less than 60 days before departure, we will pay compensation as detailed below. | Period before departure within which we notify you of cancelation or major change | Compensation payable per booking | |---|---| | 60 days or more | 50 USD | | 59 – 28 days | 100 USD | | Less than 28 days | 150 USD | To be eligible for compensation from Snorkel Venture, your tour must be subject to a major change or cancellation within 60 days or less of your tour booking departure date, as defined in Section 9.1 above, or by Snorkel Venture as a “major change.” We will not compensate for a minor change, any major change more than 60 days before your tour booking departure date, if your tour is canceled due to a failure to make timely payments, or where a cancellation or change to your tour are due to changes requested by you or due to a force majeure event or events. In the event you agree to an offer of alternative travel accommodations, unless the alternative accommodations bear a lower price, you will not receive compensation from us. If, during the tour we, or our suppliers are unable to perform in accordance with these Terms and Conditions you may be entitled to an appropriate price reduction, refund or compensation. The amount will be based on the circumstances of the failure to perform and shall be at the sole discretion of Snorkel Venture. **10. Travel Protection Insurance** It is your responsibility to protect your purchases. For this reason, Travel protection insurance coverage, including ‘cancel for any reason’ coverage is strongly recommended. Such a plan should cover Trip Cancellation or Interruption, Medical Expense, Emergency Evacuation/Repatriation, and Baggage. Travel protection plans can help protect you in the event of loss of non-refundable trip deposits and payments that result from cancellation or trip interruption (due to a covered reason such as injury or illness before or during the trip). It also helps with reimbursement for medical emergency costs (including very costly medical evacuation costs), missed connections and baggage loss. Travel Protection Plans including ‘cancel for any reason’ coverage must be purchased in close conjunction with your travel purchase. Snorkel Venture is not qualified to answer technical questions about benefits, exclusions, and conditions of travel insurance plans. We cannot evaluate the adequacy of the prospective insured’s existing insurance coverage. If you have any questions about your travel protection, call your insurer or insurance agent or broker. Certain countries have a requirement for foreign visitors to have valid medical insurance on entry. Snorkel Venture cannot be held responsible for denied entry if you are unable to provide details to authorities of insurance or denial of entry for any reason. Declining to purchase an adequate travel protection plan could result in the loss of your travel cost and/or require more money to correct the situation. You also acknowledge that without this coverage, there may be no way to recoup any losses, costs or expenses incurred. If you choose to travel without adequate coverage, we will not be liable for any of your losses howsoever arising, for which trip protection plan coverage would otherwise have been available **11. Force Majeure** Snorkel Venture assumes no liability for, any loss, damage, delay, or cancellation resulting in whole or in part from an Act of God or any other force majeure condition, including, without limitation: fire, volcanic eruption, hurricane, adverse weather, sea, ice or river conditions, environmental pollution or contamination, inclement weather, earthquake, low or high water levels, flood, water or power shortages or failures, tropical storms, nuclear, chemical or biological disaster, riots or civil commissions or disturbances, any and all other acts of similar nature, sabotage, arrests, strikes or labor disruptions, restraints of rules or peoples, expropriations, acts of terrorism or threats of terrorist activity, war, insurrection, quarantine restrictions, governmental health advisories, epidemics, pandemics or warnings or alerts of any kind of nature, government seizures, refusal or cancellation or suspension or delay of any government authority or any license, permit or authorization, lock closure, damages to facilities or the travel supplier’s facilities or transport, or any other unforeseen circumstances of any other factors unforeseen by Snorkel Venture that impacts negatively on, or hampers, our ability to fulfill any of our contractual conditions. Advice from the UK Foreign Office to avoid or leave a particular country may constitute Force Majeure. In the circumstances of force majeure, we will not be required to refund any monies to you, although if we are able to recover any monies from our suppliers, we will refund them subject to a $150 fee per person. **12. Our Discretion** In agreeing to participate in the tour and recognizing the risks associated with your participation in the tour, you hereby agree that if at any time, you or a member of your travel group is physically or mentally unable to keep up, complete or fully participate in any portion of the tour and/or your health, level of fitness or conduct before or during the tour is endangering or is likely to endanger the health or wellbeing of yourself of any other third party or disrupts the comfortable or happy progress of the tour, you may be excluded from all or part of the tour without refund or compensation. You hereby agree that we, including our employees, tour leaders, agents, and guides have sole discretion and complete authority in excluding you from participating in all or part of any tour. If you complete any criminal act while on tour with us, we shall immediately exclude you from the tour and terminate your booking. In the event we exclude you or terminate your booking, please be aware that we shall not be liable for any costs or expenses incurred as a result, nor shall we be liable for any refunds or compensation as it relates to any component of your booking with us. **13. Complaints** We make every effort to ensure that your tour arrangements run smoothly, but if you do have a problem during your tour, please inform the relevant supplier immediately who will endeavour to put things right. If your complaint is not resolved locally, please contact us on +44 7583 867542. If the problem cannot be resolved and you wish to complain further, you must send a formal written notice of your complaint to us by e-mail to ben@snorkelventure.com within 28 days of the last day of your stay, giving your booking confirmation number and all other relevant information. Please keep your email concise and to the point. This will assist us to quickly identify your concerns and speed up our response to you. Failure to follow the procedure set out in this clause may affect ours and the applicable supplier’s ability to investigate your complaint and will affect your rights under these Terms and Conditions. **14. Your Behavior** All guests staying with us are expected to conduct themselves in an orderly and acceptable manner and not to disrupt the enjoyment of other guests. If in our opinion or in the opinion of any other person in authority, your behavior or that of any member of your party is causing or is likely to cause distress, danger, or annoyance to any of our other guests or any third party we reserve the right to terminate your booking arrangements with us immediately. Likewise, any damage to property, including, but not limited to the personal property of a guest, property of a supplier, or any other third party, or to cause a delay or diversion to transportation, we also reserve the right to terminate your booking arrangements with us immediately. In the event of such termination, our liability to you and/or your party will cease and you and/or your party will be required to leave your accommodation or other service immediately. We will have no further obligations to you and/or your party. No refunds for lost accommodation or any other service will be made, and we will not pay any expenses or costs incurred as a result of termination. You and/or your party may also be required to pay for loss and/or damage caused by your actions, and we will hold you and each member of your party jointly and individually liable for any damage or losses caused by you or any member of your party. Full payment for any such damage or losses must be paid directly to the hotel manager or other supplier prior to departure from the hotel. If you fail to make payment, you will be responsible for meeting any claims (including legal costs) subsequently made against us as a result of your actions together with all costs we incur in pursuing any claim against you. We cannot be held responsible for the actions or behavior of other guests or individuals who have no connection with your booking arrangements or with us. **15. Assumption of Risk & Waiver** You are aware that travel involves inherent risks, some in remote areas of the world. Inherent risks include, but are not limited to, risk of injury risk of injury or death from: motor vehicles collisions, animals, roadway hazards, slips, and falls, criminal or terrorist acts, government actions, consumption of alcoholic beverages, tainted food, or non-potable water; exposure to the elements, including heat, cold, sun, water, and wind; your own negligence and/or the negligence of others, including tour guides, other travelers, Snorkel Venture and its employees, agents and/or representatives; attack by or encounter with insects, reptiles, and/or animals; accidents or illness occurring in remote places where there are no available medical services; fatigue, chill, overheating, and/or dizziness,; known or unknown medical conditions, physical excursion for which you are not prepared or other such accidents; the negligence or lack of adequate training of any third-party providers who seek to assist with medical or other help either before or after injuries have occurred; accident or illness without access to means of rapid evacuation or availability of medical supplies or services; and the adequacy of medical attention once provided. You understand the description of these risks is not complete and that unknown or unanticipated risks may result in injury, illness, or death. In order to partake on this trip, you are willing to accept the risks and uncertainty involved as being an integral part of travel, including the risk of infection, illness, and death. Travel to certain destinations may involve greater risk than others. Snorkel Venture urges you and your travel group to remain informed daily as to current news, as well as to review travel prohibitions, warnings, announcements, and advisories issued by the United States Government prior to booking travel to international destinations. Information on conditions in various countries and the level of risk associated with travel to destinations can be found at http://www.state.gov and http://www.cdc.gov. In addition, you should consult with government websites to ensure that you are following all requirements for admittance into that country, including COVID-19 requirements, as well as understanding local laws that govern travel within a country, such as medical tests, inoculation requirements, and tracking. Should you choose to travel to a country that has been issued a travel warning or advisory, Snorkel Venture will not be liable for damages or losses that result from travel to such destinations. You hereby accept and assume full responsibility for any and all risks of illness, injury or death and of the negligence of Snorkel Venture and agree to and shall hold harmless and fully release Snorkel Venture, and its employees, shareholders, agents, and representatives (together Snorkel Venture) from any and all claims associated with the trip, including any claims of third party negligence and/or the negligence of Snorkel Venture and you hereby covenant not to sue Snorkel Venture for any such claims or join any lawsuit or action that is suing Snorkel Venture. This agreement also binds your heirs, legal representatives, and assigns. The terms of this HOLD HARMLESS AND RELEASE OF ALL LIABILITY section, shall survive any termination or cancellation of these Terms and Conditions, whether by operation of law or otherwise. **16. Indemnification** You agree to and shall indemnify and hold harmless Snorkel Venture, and its employees, shareholders, agents, and representatives (collectively included as “Snorkel Venture”), from any expenses, losses, liabilities, damages, judgements, settlements and costs (collectively, “damages”) involved with or incurred by Snorkel Venture (including, without limitation, reasonably attorneys’ fees and the advancement of same) with respect to all claims, lawsuits, arbitrations, or other causes of action, which result, directly or indirectly from: (i) your breach or violation or threatened breach or violation of these Terms and Conditions and (ii) any damage(s) caused by you or anyone in your travel party while participating on the tour. **17. Accommodations, Excursions & Transfers Outside of the Tour** All accommodations, excursions, transfers and anything not specifically outlined in the booking confirmation itinerary and/or booked or paid for outside of the tour are not part of your contracted arrangements with us. For any accommodation, excursion, transfer, or other options that you book, your contract will be with the operator of those booked accommodations and not with us. We are not responsible for anything that happens during the course of any event or activity booked outside of your tour with us. **18. Passport, Visa and Immigration Requirements and Health Formalities** It is your responsibility to obtain and carry a valid passport, visa, health and immigration requirements applicable to your itinerary. We can only provide general information about this. You must check requirements for your own specific circumstances with the relevant Embassies and/or Consulates and your own doctor as applicable. Requirements do change and you must check the up-to-date requirements well before your departure. US citizens and residents should visit www.travel.state.gov and http://www.tsa.gov/traveler-information/acceptable-ids. for more information. Most countries require passports to be valid for at least six (6) months after your return date. Minors traveling with one parent, and/or without both parents, may be stopped and not admitted, unless authenticated and verified consent forms are provided to the authorities. Recommended inoculations and vaccinations for travel may change and you should consult with your health practitioner for current recommendations before you depart. It is your responsibility to ensure that you meet all health entry requirements, obtain the recommended inoculations and vaccinations and take all recommended medication, and follow all medical advice from your licensed practitioner in relation to your travels for your trou. Inoculation requirements can be found on the Center for Disease Control website at: https://www.cdc.gov. Neither we, nor our supplier(s) accept any responsibility if you cannot travel or incur any other loss because you have not complied with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. You agree to reimburse us in relation to any fines or other losses which we incur as a result of your failure to comply with any passport, visa, immigration requirements or health formalities. If you are pregnant or planning to get pregnant, please ensure that you meet with appropriate medical personnel to discuss your travel plans before booking with us. We cannot give medical advice on your suitability to travel if you are pregnant at the time of travel. Please not that some suppliers do not permit pregnant passengers to travel once past a certain gestational timeframe. If you are denied boarding, or access to the full features of the tour due to a supplier’s terms and conditions, we shall not be liable. **19. Conditions of Suppliers** Many of the services which make up your tour are provided by independent suppliers. Those suppliers provide these services in accordance with their own terms and conditions which will form part of your contract with us. Some of these terms and conditions may limit or exclude the supplier’s liability to you, usually in accordance with applicable International Conventions. Copies of the relevant parts of these terms and conditions are available on request from us or from the suppliers themselves. **20. Insecticide Notice** You are encouraged to check the list of countries that require airlines to treat the passenger cabin with insecticides prior to the flight or while on the aircraft on the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Website, as this list is updated from time to time: https://www.transportation.gov/airconsumer/spray **21. Written communications** Applicable laws require that some of the information or communications we send to you should be in writing. When using our site, you accept that communication with us will be mainly electronic. We will contact you by e-mail or provide you with information by posting notices on our website. For contractual purposes, you agree to this electronic means of communication and you acknowledge that all contracts, notices, information and other communications that we provide to you electronically comply with any legal requirement that such communications be in writing. This condition does not affect your statutory rights. All notices given by you to us must be given by e-mail to ben@snorkelventure.com. We may give notice to you at either the e-mail or postal address you provide to us when placing an order or in any of the ways specified in clause. **22. Transfer of Rights and Obligations** The Contract between you and us is binding on you and us and on our respective successors and assigns. You may not transfer, assign, charge or otherwise dispose of the Contract, or any of your rights or obligations arising under it, without our prior written consent. We may transfer, assign, charge, subcontract or otherwise dispose of the Contract, or any of our rights or obligations arising under it, at any time during the term of the Contract. **23. Photography Workshop Leaders** All efforts will be made to ensure the pre-determined tour leader will escort the tour. In the event the said leader is not able to lead the tour a replacement photo specialist may be required; this would only be in the case of events outside our control. We make no warranties or guarantees that a certain workshop tour will be participating, leading or in attendance on your particular tour. If a specialist tour leader is not available compensation no more than £500 / 600 USD per person will be given. **24. Jurisdiction and applicable law** These Booking Conditions and any agreement to which they apply are governed in all respects by English law. We both agree that any dispute, claim or other matter which arises between us out of or in connection with your contract or booking will be dealt with by the Courts of England and Wales only. You may, however, choose the law and jurisdiction of Scotland or Northern Ireland if you live in those places and if you wish to do so. **25. Entire Agreement & Severability** This agreement, including the terms and conditions of our suppliers, any other documents, including confirmations and itineraries we provide you, constitutes the entire agreement and it supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications and proposals, whether electronic, oral, or written, with respect to SnorkelVenture. IfanyprovisionoftheseTermsandConditionsshallbeunlawful,void,orforanyreason unenforceable, then that provision shall be deemed severable from these Terms and shall not affect the validity and enforceability of any remaining provisions. Updated: 8th December 2023 --- ### [Website Terms and Conditions](https://snorkelventure.com/website-terms-and-conditions/) **Published:** July 15, 2026 **Author:** Web Admin **Content:** *The Terms and Conditions were last updated on 15 July 2026* ## 1. Introduction These Terms and conditions apply to this website and to the transactions related to our products and services. You may be bound by additional contracts related to your relationship with us or any products or services that you receive from us. If any provisions of the additional contracts conflict with any provisions of these Terms, the provisions of these additional contracts will control and prevail. ## 2. Binding By registering with, accessing, or otherwise using this website, you hereby agree to be bound by these Terms and conditions set forth below. The mere use of this website implies the knowledge and acceptance of these Terms and conditions. In some particular cases, we can also ask you to explicitly agree. ## 3. Electronic communication By using this website or communicating with us by electronic means, you agree and acknowledge that we may communicate with you electronically on our website or by sending an email to you, and you agree that all agreements, notices, disclosures, and other communications that we provide to you electronically satisfy any legal requirement, including but not limited to the requirement that such communications should be in writing. ## 4. Intellectual property We or our licensors own and control all of the copyright and other intellectual property rights in the website and the data, information, and other resources displayed by or accessible within the website. 4.1 All the rights are reserved Unless specific content dictates otherwise, you are not granted a license or any other right under Copyright, Trademark, Patent, or other Intellectual Property Rights. This means that you will not use, copy, reproduce, perform, display, distribute, embed into any electronic medium, alter, reverse engineer, decompile, transfer, download, transmit, monetize, sell, market, or commercialize any resources on this website in any form, without our prior written permission, except and only insofar as otherwise stipulated in regulations of mandatory law (such as the right to quote). ## 5. Newsletter Notwithstanding the foregoing, you may forward our newsletter in the electronic form to others who may be interested in visiting our website. ## 6. Third-party property Our website may include hyperlinks or other references to other party’s websites. We do not monitor or review the content of other party’s websites which are linked to from this website. Products or services offered by other websites shall be subject to the applicable Terms and Conditions of those third parties. Opinions expressed or material appearing on those websites are not necessarily shared or endorsed by us. We will not be responsible for any privacy practices or content of these sites. You bear all risks associated with the use of these websites and any related third-party services. We will not accept any responsibility for any loss or damage in whatever manner, however caused, resulting from your disclosure to third parties of personal information. ## 7. Responsible use By visiting our website, you agree to use it only for the purposes intended and as permitted by these Terms, any additional contracts with us, and applicable laws, regulations, and generally accepted online practices and industry guidelines. You must not use our website or services to use, publish or distribute any material which consists of (or is linked to) malicious computer software; use data collected from our website for any direct marketing activity, or conduct any systematic or automated data collection activities on or in relation to our website. Engaging in any activity that causes, or may cause, damage to the website or that interferes with the performance, availability, or accessibility of the website is strictly prohibited. ## 8. Idea submission Do not submit any ideas, inventions, works of authorship, or other information that can be considered your own intellectual property that you would like to present to us unless we have first signed an agreement regarding the intellectual property or a non-disclosure agreement. If you disclose it to us absent such written agreement, you grant to us a worldwide, irrevocable, non-exclusive, royalty-free license to use, reproduce, store, adapt, publish, translate and distribute your content in any existing or future media. ## 9. Termination of use We may, in our sole discretion, at any time modify or discontinue access to, temporarily or permanently, the website or any Service thereon. You agree that we will not be liable to you or any third party for any such modification, suspension or discontinuance of your access to, or use of, the website or any content that you may have shared on the website. You will not be entitled to any compensation or other payment, even if certain features, settings, and/or any Content you have contributed or have come to rely on, are permanently lost. You must not circumvent or bypass, or attempt to circumvent or bypass, any access restriction measures on our website. ## 10. Warranties and liability Nothing in this section will limit or exclude any warranty implied by law that it would be unlawful to limit or to exclude. This website and all content on the website are provided on an “as is” and “as available” basis and may include inaccuracies or typographical errors. We expressly disclaim all warranties of any kind, whether express or implied, as to the availability, accuracy, or completeness of the Content. We make no warranty that: - this website or our content will meet your requirements; - this website will be available on an uninterrupted, timely, secure, or error-free basis. Nothing on this website constitutes or is meant to constitute, legal, financial or medical advice of any kind. If you require advice you should consult an appropriate professional. The following provisions of this section will apply to the maximum extent permitted by applicable law and will not limit or exclude our liability in respect of any matter which it would be unlawful or illegal for us to limit or to exclude our liability. In no event will we be liable for any direct or indirect damages (including any damages for loss of profits or revenue, loss or corruption of data, software or database, or loss of or harm to property or data) incurred by you or any third party, arising from your access to, or use of, our website. Except to the extent any additional contract expressly states otherwise, our maximum liability to you for all damages arising out of or related to the website or any products and services marketed or sold through the website, regardless of the form of legal action that imposes liability (whether in contract, equity, negligence, intended conduct, tort or otherwise) will be limited to the total price that you paid to us to purchase such products or services or use the website. Such limit will apply in the aggregate to all of your claims, actions and causes of action of every kind and nature. ## 11. Privacy To access our website and/or services, you may be required to provide certain information about yourself as part of the registration process. You agree that any information you provide will always be accurate, correct, and up to date. We have developed a policy to address any privacy concerns you may have. For more information, please see our [Privacy Statement](https://snorkelventure.com/privacy-statement-uk/?cmplz_region_redirect=true) and our [Cookie Policy](https://snorkelventure.com/cookie-policy-uk/?cmplz_region_redirect=true). ## 12. Export restrictions / Legal compliance Access to the website from territories or countries where the Content or purchase of the products or Services sold on the website is illegal is prohibited. You may not use this website in violation of export laws and regulations of United Kingdom. ## 13. Assignment You may not assign, transfer or sub-contract any of your rights and/or obligations under these Terms and conditions, in whole or in part, to any third party without our prior written consent. Any purported assignment in violation of this Section will be null and void. ## 14. Breaches of these Terms and conditions Without prejudice to our other rights under these Terms and Conditions, if you breach these Terms and Conditions in any way, we may take such action as we deem appropriate to deal with the breach, including temporarily or permanently suspending your access to the website, contacting your internet service provider to request that they block your access to the website, and/or commence legal action against you. ## 15. Force majeure Except for obligations to pay money hereunder, no delay, failure or omission by either party to carry out or observe any of its obligations hereunder will be deemed to be a breach of these Terms and conditions if and for as long as such delay, failure or omission arises from any cause beyond the reasonable control of that party. ## 16. Indemnification You agree to indemnify, defend and hold us harmless, from and against any and all claims, liabilities, damages, losses and expenses, relating to your violation of these Terms and conditions, and applicable laws, including intellectual property rights and privacy rights. You will promptly reimburse us for our damages, losses, costs and expenses relating to or arising out of such claims. ## 17. Waiver Failure to enforce any of the provisions set out in these Terms and Conditions and any Agreement, or failure to exercise any option to terminate, shall not be construed as waiver of such provisions and shall not affect the validity of these Terms and Conditions or of any Agreement or any part thereof, or the right thereafter to enforce each and every provision. ## 18. Language These Terms and Conditions will be interpreted and construed exclusively in English. All notices and correspondence will be written exclusively in that language. ## 19. Entire agreement These Terms and Conditions, together with our [privacy statement](https://snorkelventure.com/privacy-statement-uk/?cmplz_region_redirect=true) and [cookie policy](https://snorkelventure.com/cookie-policy-uk/?cmplz_region_redirect=true), constitute the entire agreement between you and Snorkel Venture Limited in relation to your use of this website. ## 20. Updating of these Terms and conditions We may update these Terms and Conditions from time to time. It is your obligation to periodically check these Terms and Conditions for changes or updates. The date provided at the beginning of these Terms and Conditions is the latest revision date. Changes to these Terms and Conditions will become effective upon such changes being posted to this website. Your continued use of this website following the posting of changes or updates will be considered notice of your acceptance to abide by and be bound by these Terms and Conditions. ## 21. Choice of Law and Jurisdiction These Terms and Conditions shall be governed by the laws of United Kingdom. Any disputes relating to these Terms and Conditions shall be subject to the jurisdiction of the courts of United Kingdom. If any part or provision of these Terms and Conditions is found by a court or other authority to be invalid and/or unenforceable under applicable law, such part or provision will be modified, deleted and/or enforced to the maximum extent permissible so as to give effect to the intent of these Terms and Conditions. The other provisions will not be affected. ## 22. Contact information This website is owned and operated by Snorkel Venture Limited. You may contact us regarding these Terms and Conditions through our [contact](https://snorkelventure.com/contact/) page. ## 23. Download You can also [download](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/plugins/complianz-terms-conditions/download.php) our Terms and Conditions as a PDF. --- ### [Codes of Practice](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good/codes-of-practice/) **Published:** April 28, 2021 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** **Here’s some of the things we are doing to help reduce the impact of Snorkel Venture operations** - We give 100 USD per person per completed booking to our charity partners to support the environmental and social work they do. See more [HERE](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/). - We give a sustainability briefing at the beginning of our tours which outline a code of practice in the water (see below). - We’re committed to small group tours, using partners which share our desire to protect the underwater world. - We carry a maximum of 750 snorkelers per year. - We don’t print or distribute any offline promotional material (brochures, leaflets etc). - We operate as a paperless organisation and switch off computers and office equipment when idle. - We encourage working from home to reduce local travel. **Here’s some things you can do to help us be a more sustainable company:** - We only allow reef safe sunscreen to be used before snorkeling. [See Stream2Sea website for orders.](https://stream2sea.com) - We have a strict no touch, no harass policy in the water. - Pay close attention to your body and fin position in the water over shallow reef. - Give large pelagic species such as manta, whalesharks and whales plenty of space in the water. - Limit the use of your camera flash when photographing up-close critters and slow moving marine life. - Bring a refillable water bottle and refill from resort/liveaboard stations. - Bring batteries home for recycling, or better still use rechargeable batteries. - Limit the amount of laundry you do on tour. - Use biodegradable body and hair wash on tour. See [Stream2Sea website for orders.](https://stream2sea.com/product-category/bodycare/) --- ### [Contact Us](https://snorkelventure.com/contact-us/) **Published:** September 1, 2020 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** ### Get in touch **We’d love to hear from you**. Whether you are just looking for a little more information, or perhaps a call back at a suitable time – just complete the form and we’ll be in touch right away. [+1 650 484 5955](tel:+16504845955) <hello@snorkelventure.com> Your Name (required) Your Email (required) Your Message Sign me up to your newsletter - tick a box! YesNo --- ### [Our Story](https://snorkelventure.com/our-story/) **Published:** September 21, 2020 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** **Whilst Snorkel Venture was officially launched in 2018, it’s been 17 years in the making. Here’s the story of how we became to be here.** **2005.** We (Ben, Sarah and Bernita) meet at a dive school in Malaysia. Living a nomadic lifestyle as dive and snorkel guides throughout Asia, we spend much of the following 5 years together working in dive resorts throughout Thailand, Malaysia & Indonesia. Previously Ben and Sarah worked in Fiji, Egypt, Honduras, Belize and Mexico. Over this period we amass a good 10,000 dives between us. *Ben (centre), Sarah (right), Bernita (far right)* ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Snorkeling-tours-team.jpg "Snorkeling-tours-team | Snorkel Venture") ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Highland-Tour-in-Sulawesi-AD.jpg "Highland-Tour-in-Sulawesi-AD | Snorkel Venture") **2008**. Our idea of a dive tours company is born. We name it [Dive Safari Asia](http://www.divesafariasia.com) and welcome our first guests for a remote dive & overland tour of northern Sumatra. The tour gets interest from the international press as it becomes the first travel company to offer access to the region. The [BBC](http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/8395405.stm) come to interview Ben and the tour is first named as The [Guardian Travels](https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2008/dec/13/diving-safari-adventure-holidays-best) ‘Ten Best Diving Adventures’. UK’s top selling scuba magazine DIVER send a journalist to [review the trip](http://archive.divernet.com/far-east/p299761-indonesia-raw-.html). **2013.** Dive Safari Asia continues to grow with very little marketing. Ben & Sarah run the company from various locations across Asia [(read about that also in the Guardian)](https://www.theguardian.com/travel/2010/jan/09/nomads-working-travelling-world). More and more divers catch word of mouth that we know a thing or two about diving in Asia. Soon a better internet connection is required to deal with the enquiries so we return to the UK to set up office and home ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/photos-of-divers-2.jpg "photos-of-divers-2 | Snorkel Venture") ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Ben-at-the-dive-show.jpg "Ben at the dive show | Snorkel Venture") **2015.** Dive Safari Asia becomes a leading brand on the UK dive travel scene. Maggie joins as a tour guide and Bernita as operations manager, our range of destinations offered expands across the Asia Pacific region from Maldives, Sri Lanka, Indonesia and Philippines to Palau & Papua New Guinea. Ben meets a snorkeling couple in Raja Ampat on a dive boat and discusses their annoyances at having to be taken to a site not suitable and a new idea is born. **2018**. Snorkel Venture launches with a dedicated website and range of exclusive group tours across the globe. Crystal and Graham join the team as destination specialists. Our range of snorkeling experiences include island hopping tours, freediving & photography workshops and liveaboard charters. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/snorkeling-groups.jpg "snorkeling groups | Snorkel Venture") ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/8-22-June-Maggie-Alor-Komodo.jpg "8 - 22 June Maggie Alor Komodo | Snorkel Venture") **2019.** Alex joins the team as our dedicated videographer and photo specialist. Our team of guides expands and now includes Paul ‘Duxy’, Emma, Asha, Dalton and Marcus. Our team of guides continues to search for new destinations with exploratory trips to French Polynesia, Mexico and Triton Bay in Indonesia. **The adventure continues – why not check out [our video highlights here](https://www.youtube.com/@snorkelventure6681/videos).** --- ### [Buy Carbon Credits](https://snorkelventure.com/carbon-credits/) **Published:** May 6, 2021 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** At Snorkel Venture all our associated flights are offset with Gold Standard. We all have a carbon footprint. As we work to reduce it, we can take some responsibility for our climate impact by offsetting emissions. By using this carbon calculator to offset your footprint, you’ll be supporting best practice projects that help the environment and local communities worldwide. [Calculate your footprint here with WWF – Click HERE](https://footprint.wwf.org.uk/#/) [Buy Carbon Credits with Gold Standard – Click HERE](https://marketplace.goldstandard.org/collections/projects) --- ### [By Tour Type](https://snorkelventure.com/by-tour-type/) **Published:** January 27, 2022 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** - [2023](#1643269788202-7275a584-0657) - [2024](#1643269818970-acea3028-cc73) #### [2023](#1643269788202-7275a584-0657) ### Liveaboards **Raja Ampat – Halmahera – Lembeh onboard the Mermaid II** [24 February – 8 March](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-halmahera-lembeh-snorkeling-mermaid-ii-liveaboard/) [8 – 20 March](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-halmahera-lembeh-snorkeling-mermaid-ii-liveaboard/) **Raja Ampat by Liveaboard-Coralia** [14 – 26 March](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) [26 October – 8 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) **Belize Liveaboard Safari – Aggressor IV** [11 – 18 February](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-by-liveaboard-aggressor-iv/) ### Resort Week **Misool Snorkel Week** [27 February – 8 March](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tours/) **Alor Snorkel Week** [12 – 22 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-safari/) **Komodo Snorkel Week** [18 – 26 August](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/komodo-snorkeling-week/) **Belize Snorkel Week** [24 February – 4 March](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) **Wakatobi Snorkel Week** [29 October – 6 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/wakatobi-snorkel-week/) ### Multi-Destination **Sulawesi & Raja Ampat Safari** [11 – 25 March](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) [22 October – 5 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **Misool & Wakatobi Safari** [27 March – 14 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-wakatobi-safari/) [17 November – 5 December](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-wakatobi-safari/) **Borneo & Sulawesi Safari** [7 – 22 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/borneo-and-sulawesi-snorkeling-safari/) **Epic Indonesia** [12 April – 10 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tours/) **Alor & Komodo Safari** [17 April – 1 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-komodo-safari-2/) [3 – 17 June \| Photography Workshop](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-komodo-photo-workshop/) [10 – 24 July \| Family Tour ](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-komodo-safari-2/) [17 – 31 July \| Family Tour](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-komodo-safari-2/) [16th – 30th September ](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-komodo-safari-2/) [06 – 20 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-komodo-safari-2/) **Triton Bay & Raja Ampat Safari** [1 – 13 December \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) ### Liveaboard-Resort Combo **Palau Resort and Liveaboard Safari** [8 – 19 March](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-snorkeling-safari/) **Egypt Snorkeling Safari** [12 – 25 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) **Philippines Liveaboard and Resort Safari** [25 November – 6 December \| Available](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/philippines-liveaboard-resort-combo/) ### Photo Workshops **Belize Liveaboard Photography Safari** [18 – 25 February](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-photo-safari-with-belize-aggressor-iv/) **Alor & Komodo Photography Workshop** [3 – 17 June](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-komodo-photo-workshop/) #### [2024](#1643269818970-acea3028-cc73) ### Liveaboards **Raja Ampat with Coralia Liveaboard** [26 October – 8 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) [9 – 20 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) **Cenderawasih Bay with Coralia Liveaboard** [26 July – 6 August](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay/) ### Resort Week **Belize Snorkel Week** [23 February – 2 March](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) **Wakatobi Snorkel Week** 29 September – 7 October **Alor Snorkel Week** [20 – 30 September](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-safari/) ### Multi-Destination **Sulawesi & Raja Ampat Safari** [3 – 17 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) [2 – 16 October](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **Misool & Wakatobi Safari** [4 – 22 April](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-wakatobi-safari/) **Alor & Komodo Safari** [26 April – 09 May](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-komodo-safari-2/) [13 – 27 September ](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-komodo-safari-2/) **Epic Indonesia** [28 October – 24 November](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/epic-indonesia-snorkel-safari-alor-komodo-wakatobi-bali-misool/) --- ### [Coronavirus](https://snorkelventure.com/coronavirus/) **Published:** October 5, 2020 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** For any questions relating to either booking a new tour or a booking you already have we simply ask that you contact us directly so we can advise you on your options. You can expect a response within 24hrs. We are trying to be as flexible as we possibly can during this time. You can contact me directly at ben@snorkelventure.com or **[contact by clicking here](https://snorkelventure.com/contact-us/)**. **Testing on return from travel** We are working with local partners around the world to offer PCR, Antigen and Lateral Flow Tests so that you can meet the requirements of your home country on return from your travels. **Documentation** We will provide up to date information on entry requirements for your destination of travel at 1 month to departure. --- ### [Booking Form](https://snorkelventure.com/booking-form/) **Published:** October 21, 2020 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** Your Name (required) Your Email (required) Tour Name / Destination Preferred Month & Year of Travel Your Message --- ### [What to expect](https://snorkelventure.com/what-to-expect/) **Published:** September 23, 2020 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Content:** **What can I expect on tour with Snorkel Venture?** Firstly – there is no typical day with Snorkel Venture, at least in terms of what you can expect to see below the surface. But we can give you some insight into what you can expect from a day on tour with us, how our guides like to run their tours and some information about how ‘we do group travel’. You can also make life easy and see the video below that our guide, Alex, has made about what to expect on tour. Just scroll down. **You might be wondering if you are the right fit for our tours.** People come to us from all sorts of backgrounds and all sorts of experience levels – we can say with confidence you will feel just as at ease in our groups if you have only just started snorkeling or have thousands of hours under your suit. Most people surface snorkel, so if you don’t duck dive – don’t worry. **What about age?** Well let’s just say we generally attract people who are young at heart on our tours and our age range is usually but not always between 50 – 70 years old. We usually have a good mix of couples and singles, around half the people on any group are singles. If you want to know how things are looking on the ratio – just ask, we don’t give out names but we can let you know how the group is mixed in terms of single vs doubles. ![Group Photo of happy Snorkel Venture guests | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1155495.jpg "P1155495 | Snorkel Venture") **You do need to consider this.** **One of our biggest challenges with guests is getting into and out of snorkel boats. Some boats are easier than others. We include information in the tour descriptions about the style of boat we are using for the tour. Please be honest with us about your ability and we can then advise you about the physicality involved for the tour you are interested in.** ![balcony at misool resort | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Misool-Balcony.jpg "Misool Balcony | Snorkel Venture") **Ease & Flexibility, it’s how our day works.** In terms of a daily schedule when snorkeling from a resort you can expect 2-3 boat sessions per day lasting between 60 and 90 minutes each. From a liveaboard it’s usually 3-4 sessions per day. There’s always boat support so if you want to finish sooner, or rest, just let you guide know. For those that want more snorkeling many of our resorts have house reefs and you can be sure your guide will want more time in the water, likewise from a liveaboard extra time in the water is not a problem. **Where we like to snorkel?** In the shallows. We generally seek out pristine shallow reefs with lots of life, unless we are looking for bigger stuff in the blue that’s where we spend our time. We like to take things slowly, generally drifting with the current rather than against it. Taking time over the reef, our guides will point out interesting marine life. ![Pristine coral reef in Komodo | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1722171.jpg "P1722171 | Snorkel Venture") ![Snorkelers silouette | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/How-Fit-for-Snorkeling.jpg "How Fit for Snorkeling | Snorkel Venture") **Safety in and out of the water.** Safety is something we’ve put a lot of thought into and is of major importance to us. All of our Snorkel Venture guides are first-aid trained along with the guides from the resort or boat. Things like emergency oxygen, first aid kits, and life jackets are always pointed out at the beginning of the tour. Before jumping in the water we always do a head count, and once again back onboard. There are briefings about each site before we start our snorkels which will explain things like which direction the current is going, which way we will be going (always with the current if there is any), hand signals, and what we hope to see on that particular snorkel. In the water we like to keep a loose group formation with one guide in the front of the group clearly marked with an orange life ring or float, and one in the rear as well. There will then be a couple more guides mixed within the group. We encourage you to spread out and snorkel at your own pace and style, but we do ask that you stay behind the lead guide and in front of the guide at the back. If you prefer to stay close to the guides they will go out of their way to point things out to you, and will of course hold your hand if you need it. We want to provide maximum safety and comfort at all times while still allowing those more confident in the water to explore at their leisure. **Meals** Expect a choice of local and international food options on tour, some resorts and liveaboards offer buffet, other times you’ll have the option to choose from a set menu. Pretty much all dietary requirements can be catered for providing we have prior knowledge. Likewise allergies can be taken care of. ![Komodo Resort Beach Bar | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1188557.jpg "P1188557 | Snorkel Venture") [Questions? Just ask here](https://snorkelventure.com/dev/contact-us/) --- ### [Tours](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/) **Published:** September 1, 2020 **Author:** Ben Stokes --- ### [Shop](https://snorkelventure.com/shop/) **Published:** September 1, 2020 **Author:** Web Admin --- ## Products ### [Snorkeling Palau by Liveaboard | Aggressor](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/palau-snorkeling-liveaboard-safari/) **Published:** July 24, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Expect big fish encounters, beautiful reefs and stunning vistas above and below the surface. **Content:** Palau, one of the most beautiful Pacific Island nations, is one of our favorite places to snorkel. Widely known for its clear turquoise water, a proliferation of schooling fish, large pelagics, sharks, and healthy reefs, this destination is truly spectacular. With hundreds of fish and coral species, the snorkeling is second to none. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1699163.jpg) Above water our group will explore the lush green limestone formations and their hidden coves and beaches. Palau was pivotal during the Second World War and there are many interesting historical sites to visit including a few airplane wrecks which make for curious snorkel sites. We’ve chartered the lovely and very well equipped Palau Aggressor II liveaboard exclusively for us. The liveaboard is captained and staffed by an experienced crew who knows the area inside out. They know when the water conditions are best to visit the various snorkel sites and understand the currents and tides. There will be experienced guides in the water with snorkelers at all times. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Gary B. April 2026 ‘Fabulous trip to a truly beautiful location Palau. Very nice liveaboard Palau Aggressor II, excellent crew, maxed out on snorkelling with 5-6 hours per day, well organised boat, great food, great company’ --- **Marine Life Guide**![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) --- This tour is partnered with the Manta Trust. [Find out how we support the Manta Trust via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** Liveaboard, Palau **Tour Categories:** Palau --- ### [Snorkeling Palau by Liveaboard | Solitude Gaia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/snorkeling-palau-by-liveaboard-solitude-gaia/) **Published:** March 20, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Expect beautiful reefs, lots of fish, and stunning vistas above and below the surface in Palau . **Content:** Palau is one of the most beautiful Pacific Island nations and one of our favorite places to snorkel – especially when combined with the unparalleled comfort and attention to detail of the liveaboard we’ve chartered for this tour. Widely known for its clear turquoise water, a proliferation of schooling fish, large pelagics, sharks and a diverse range of reef systems to explore, this destination is truly spectacular. A paradise for snorkelers. ![Beautiful reefs we enjoy while snorkeling Palau. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/P1006021.jpg) Above water, our group will explore the lush green limestone formations and their hidden coves, beaches, and World War II relics. Palau was pivotal during the Second World War and there are many interesting historical sites to visit, including a few airplane wrecks, which make for curious snorkel sites. We’ve chartered the lovely and very well-equipped Solitude Gaia liveaboard exclusively for us. The liveaboard is captained and staffed by an experienced crew who know the area inside out. They know when the water conditions are best to visit the various snorkel sites and understand the currents and tides. There will be experienced guides in the water with snorkelers at all times. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Cass. March 2025 ‘Our trip to Palau with Snorkel Venture was wonderful. Our tour leader, Alex, was continually working to ensure everything went well and we spent the absolute most time possible in the water. Graham, our primary Snorkel Venture contact prior to the trip promptly answered my questions and addressed any concern I had’ --- **Marine Life Guide**![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) --- This tour is partnered with Manta Trust. [Find out how we support Manta Trust via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Manta-Trust.png) **Product categories:** Liveaboard, Palau **Tour Categories:** Liveaboard Safari, Palau --- ### [Alor & Misool Snorkeling Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-misool-snorkeling-safari/) **Published:** July 20, 2023 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** The ultimate Alor & Misool Snorkeling tour featuring the region's best snorkeling sites for big fish and beautiful reefs. **Content:** This is an incredible snorkeling safari featuring two of Indonesia’s best destinations for big fish and beautiful reefs – Alor and Misool. Experience snorkeling at it’s best! ![Misool snorkeling | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1255475-scaled.jpg) Alor will be the first stop on this beautiful snorkeling safari. We’ll be hosted by one of the only resorts in this remote part of Indonesia, Alami Alor. We charter the entire resort which gives us unfettered access to the amazing house reef and the nearby snorkeling sites. Alor is still a bit of a secret to a lot of the world. Regardless, we’ve become very fond of the snorkeling here. The shallow reefs are very lively and remain in near pristine condition. Moreover, sightings of large cetaceans like blue whales and super pods of dolphins are fairly common from the boat. Misool is the southernmost set of islands in Raja Ampat. This paradise is brimming with pristine coral reefs and more exotic marine species than you possibly count in a single trip. Misool Resort is the only resort in this entire – largely uninhabited – area and yet the comfort and style of this resort is second to none. Because of the amazing conservation efforts taken on by the resort, the surrounding waters are densely populated with sharks, rays, and swarms of fish big and small. There are few places on the planet which are comparable to Misool snorkeling. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Tim C. May 2025 ‘Highest rating!! Our snorkeling trip to Alor and Misool sets the standard for top notch adventure travel. Meticulously planned and flawlessly executed’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) --- This tour is partnered with No Trash Triangle Initiative. [Find out how we support NTTI via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![NTTI logo featuring a coral-colored circular emblem with a branching coral and the text 'NTTI' and 'No-Trash Triangle Initiative' in coral letters | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/NTTI_Logo_second_print_coral_trans-300x135.png) **Product categories:** Indonesia **Product tags:** Alor Snorkeling, Misool Snorkeling **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Island Hopping Safari, Raja Ampat --- ### [Sulawesi & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/sulawesi-raja-ampat-safari-2025/) **Published:** June 19, 2023 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Journey through two of Indonesia's premier snorkeling destinations with this amazing safari style tour. **Content:** Experience the best of Indonesia on this 15-day snorkel safari through North Sulawesi and the fabled Raja Ampat. Encounters with manta rays, lots of turtles, all the reef fish you can imagine, and of course some of the richest reefs found anywhere on the planet are some of the expected highlights of this snorkel safari. ![Turtle, snorkel Sulawesi | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1599020-scaled.jpg) We’ll be based at two different resorts, first in Northern Sulawesi and then Raja Ampat. Whilst no two days will be the same, our snorkeling days usually involve a morning and an afternoon at different sites each time. We’ll explore walls, drifts snorkels, sloping reefs, manta cleaning stations, mangroves, village jetties, and so much more! A member of the Snorkel Venture team fully guides this tour and assists with everything from start to finish, just like all of our snorkel safaris. We will snorkel Sulawesi from Siladen Resort, a favorite of ours. Bungalows are set in a manicured garden set around the pool. The food is wonderful and guests can enjoy meals on the beach. The area is especially well known for its soft coral and boasts one of the healthiest turtle populations in Indonesia. We will embark of two boat snorkel sessions per day to varied sites from walls and drop offs to slopes and sandy bottoms. Thereafter, we will snorkel Raja Ampat from Papua Explorers Resort, in the Dampier Strait. The resort’s spacious stilted bungalows are set over the expansive house reef. which we can explore at our leisure. Additionally, we will enjoy three boat snorkel sessions per day. The resort offers easy access to some of the areas best reefs, manta cleaning stations and mangroves. The sheer volume and variety of marine life is mind-blowing. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Jim. Oct 2024 ‘Our trip to Sulawesi and Raja Ampat was perfect! Our tour leader, Marcus, was outstanding. He communicated very effectively and timely. Not too much information or not too little information. He managed 100% of the details.’ --- **Marine Life Guide**![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) This tour is partnered with No Trash Triangle Initiative. [Find out how we support NTTI via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![NTTI logo featuring a coral-colored circular emblem with a branching coral and the text 'NTTI' and 'No-Trash Triangle Initiative' in coral letters | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/NTTI_Logo_second_print_coral_trans-300x135.png) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Overland Safari **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Island Hopping Safari, Raja Ampat --- ### [Mexico Mobula & Marine Megafauna Expedition](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/mexico-mobula-marine-megafauna-expedition/) **Published:** September 2, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Snorkeling with mobula rays, dolphins, turtles, whales, sea lions, whale sharks, and mantas! **Content:** Join us on a unique snorkeling expedition to Mexico’s Baja California Sur, a magical place where the ocean is still wild and full of life. This expedition has been created to take us further offshore for the chance of encountering some of the ocean’s most spectacular creatures. ![Snorkeler over a school of mobula rays | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/DSC_2529.jpg) We will be based in La Ventana, a small town on the Gulf of California, facing the majestic Isla Cerralvo. We will be focusing on searching for the epic Mobula Munkiana aggregations as these amazing animals come together for mating and feeding before migrating into the Pacific Ocean. As we search for the mobula rays, there are also chances to come across other marine megafauna, like orca whales, dolphins, turtles, oceanic mantas, sea lions, and several species of whale! We will often travel up to 40 miles offshore or up and down the coast to hopefully encounter incredible animals. **Is this trip right for me?** This is a very unique type of trip in that a good portion of our time (up to 8 hours a day) is spent in the open ocean looking for the mobulas and the other marine megafauna that roam these waters. Whales, sea lions, sharks, turtles, and dolphins are also frequently spotted in the area. If we come across them, we could very well have the opportunity to get in the water with them. ![Group of six people standing on a sandy beach posing for a photo with calm water and distant hills in the background, snorkelventure logo in the top right corner. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/P1030384-scaled.jpg) Even though the team we’ll be working with has incredible knowledge of the marine life here, there can be times when we won’t see anything for anywhere from thirty minutes to a couple of hours, as these pelagic species can be hard to find at times. We also need to say that, as these pelagic species can move relatively quickly, there may be a lot of getting into and out of the boat via the ladder as we reposition the boat to get back in the water. This safari is one of our more physically demanding tours, and a reasonable level of physical strength is required for this particular tour. Also, please note that there are no toilets on the boats. For more information about what you can expect from this tour, please get in touch with us. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Melissa. March 2023 ‘I had a terrific time on the Mexico Pelagic Safari snorkel trip led by Marcus in March 2023. It was truly a unique experience, despite not being able to see whale sharks due to government regulation. For example, being nearby as a mother humpback taught her baby how to breach, watching curious gray whales spyhop and then swim directly under our boat, being in the water near a Mako shark, and snorkeling amongst cavorting sea lions’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![Three mobula rays swimming together, turquoise silhouettes inside a framed panel. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/09/mobulas-dolphins-turtles-whales-whale-sharks-manta-sea-lions.webp)  --- This tour is partnered with the Manta Trust. [Find out how we support the Manta Trust via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** Uncategorised --- ### [Triton Bay & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/triton-bay-raja-ampat-safari/) **Published:** September 14, 2020 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Amazing whale shark encounters combined with the world's richest reefs in remote Indonesia. **Content:** Triton Bay and Raja Ampat are widely considered as the pinnacles of the planet’s marine biodiversity. These two destinations lie within a coastal region known as the Bird’s Head Seascape in the eastern part of Indonesia which is home to over 1,700 species of fish, more than 600 species of coral, and 17 different species of whales and dolphins. We’ve put this combination of locations together with the hope that we will have a very exclusive experience of snorkeling with whale sharks in Triton Bay in combination with some incredible reef snorkeling in Raja Ampat. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1600589-scaled.jpg) Triton Bay Resort is the only resort in the region of Triton Bay which lies to the south of Raja Ampat. As snorkelers we will have exclusive use of the resort for the duration of our stay. Aside from the stunning coral reefs that are unique to this region, whale sharks are known to frequent the area as they are attracted to bagans (fishing platforms) and come to feed on the schools of baitfish below the platforms. We’ll travel to the bagans, where we hope to be able to snorkel with whale sharks, and the rest of our time there will be spent exploring some of the beautiful reefs in the area. It is important to note that sightings are not guaranteed, although we would describe the possibility as high. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/DJI_0419.jpg) From Triton Bay we will travel north to Raja Ampat which offers excellent chances of encounters with manta rays, masses of schooling fish, and spectacular coral reefs. Here we will be based at Papua Explorers Resort for 6 full days of snorkeling at some of the best sites in the region. While Raja Ampat can have some strong currents, our local guides will choose protected sites, or appropriate times to enter the water to avoid being in a current. If we are ever in a current, we will always drift with the water and not try to swim against it. One needs to be comfortable in the water with some upper body strength to climb back up the ladder onto the boat. This tour is accompanied by a Snorkel Venture tour leader. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Charles. Feb 2026 ‘We just finished our first Snorkel Venture trip. Dalton was an amazing guide to Triton Bay and Raja Ampat. He navigates his way around both areas with seemingly no effort. Everything that was promised was delivered.’ --- **Marine Life Guide**![marine life guide Raja Ampat Triton Bay | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/reef-fish-turtle-whaleshark-shark-critters-manta.png) --- This tour is partnered with Classroom Of Hope. [Find out how we support Classroom Of Hope via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Overland Safari **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Island Hopping Safari --- ### [Misool Resort Snorkel Tour - 14 Night Tour](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tour-13-nights/) **Published:** September 28, 2020 **Author:** Bernita Lewin **Excerpt:** Beauty above and below the surface from a stunning region of remote Raja Ampat. **Content:** Explore some of the richest and most diverse marine habitats on the planet with a stay at Misool Resort in southern Raja Ampat. Located on an idyllic island in the far fringes of Indonesia, Misool is a paradise brimming with pristine coral reefs and more exotic marine life than you possibly count in a single trip. The resort is exceptionally comfortable and given its remote location you can relax and snorkel in absolute peace. ![two paddle boarders infront of misool resort's bungalows | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/DJI_0150.jpg) Expect healthy colorful reef teeming with fish large and small, turtles, reef sharks, and a variety of smaller critters. We will also snorkel over manta cleaning stations looking for these gentle giants. Because of the amazing conservation efforts taken on by the resort, there is a huge surge in the marine life’s population and you can witness it on the doorsteps of the resort with their juvenile blacktip reef shark nursery which has naturally occurred. While this area can have some strong currents, which bring in the nutrient-rich water that helps keep the reef alive and healthy, our local guides will choose protected sites, or appropriate times to enter the water to avoid being in current. If we are ever in a current, we will always float with the water and not try to swim against it. For this tour you should be comfortable in the water with some upper body strength to climb back up the ladder onto the boat. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Michael G. May 2025 ‘Our snorkel adventure trip at Misool Resort, organized and guided by Snorkel Venture, was fabulous and met or exceeded our expectations in every way. The resort is beautifully and thoughtfully designed and constructed, with lovely scenery and sightlines in every direction, and thoughtful little design touches everywhere’ --- **Marine Life Guide**![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) --- This tour is partnered with Misool Foundation. [Find out how we support Misool Foundation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/MisoolFoundation.Logo_.small_.white_-300x109.png) **Product categories:** Indonesia **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Island Hopping Safari, Raja Ampat --- ### [West Komodo & Sumbawa: Whale Shark Experience | Naga Biru Liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-sumbawa-whale-shark-experience-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Published:** March 28, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Snorkel safari to the remote reefs of Komodo and beyond by liveaboard **Content:** Join us to snorkel Komodo and the surrounding islands on this beautiful and brand new liveaboard, Naga Biru. We’ll spend time in the Komodo National Park. Here we’ll enjoy the fantastic reefs and interacting with the prolific marine life that the area is famous for. We’ll also explore the area beyond the park boundaries, where the marine life is as abundant and the reefs as robust. We’ll visit a semi-active volcano with reefs that effervesce with volcanic bubbles. Then we go to Saleh Bay to see the whale sharks! This snorkel liveaboard itinerary offers opportunities to see spectacular reefs, fish and critters large and small, and whale sharks. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Naga-Biru__0079-scaled.jpg) We’ll be covering a lot of territory and visiting locations not otherwise accessible from a resort. This is why we’ve chartered the lovely Naga Biru liveaboard exclusively for our group. Naga Biru will be our floating home for the duration of this tour. Thus we can snorkel Komodo, indulging in the exhilarating experiences of exploring seldom-visited reefs, while enjoying all the luxuries and amenities of a comfortable resort. ![Snorkel Komodo on the Naga Biru Livebaoard | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/P1055023.jpg) Because so few snorkelers and divers visit this isolated region, the reefs are still in absolutely stunning condition! You can expect to experience a vast array of types of reefs, each with its own unique blend of marine life that inhabits them. From the snorkel liveaboard, it’s not uncommon to see cuttlefish, octopus, various species of crab and shrimp, nudibranchs, manta rays, several species of turtles, scorpion fish in all shapes sizes, and colors, sea snakes, whale sharks, and so much more. This trip really offers it all! A member of the Snorkel Venture team escorts the group for the duration of this snorkel liveaboard trip. *\*Please note that this particular itinerary covers a lot of territory and, therefore, involves multiple overnight crossings between regions. You will be in the open sea and more exposed to the elements, particularly swell. If you have any reservations or hesitations about what it’s like onboard a liveaboard, please [get in touch](https://snorkelventure.com/contact-us/) with us and/or read this [blog](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/02/16/everything-you-need-to-know-about-liveaboards/) about what you can expect from a liveaboard itinerary such as this.* --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Domenique H. Oct 25 ‘I have just returned from a 12-day liveaboard with Snorkel Venture on the Naga Biru in the Komodo region of Indonesia. This is my second snorkelling trip with this company this year and I cannot praise them highly enough. Our guide/photographer was exceptionally good and lots of fun. His friendliness, knowledge and enthusiasm made the trip even more special’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![marine life guide Raja Ampat Triton Bay | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/reef-fish-turtle-whaleshark-shark-critters-manta.png) --- This tour is partnered with Thrive Conservation. [Find out how we support Thrive Conservation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Thrive-conservation-300x114.jpg) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Komodo, Liveaboard Safari --- ### [Halmahera Snorkel Tour | 11 - 12 Nights](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/halmahera-snorkeling-tour/) **Published:** July 13, 2022 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Secluded resort snorkeling tour set away from the crowds in northern Indonesia. **Content:** Be among the first to experience the remote reefs of Halmahera in northern Indonesia. On this snorkeling tour, we will spend our time gliding over the vibrant shallow coral reefs of this secluded corner of Indonesia while we indulge in all the amenities and comforts of our boutique tropical island resort. ![House reef at Kusu island resort | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/P1088269.jpg) Halmahera is the large odd-shaped island just west of the Raja Ampat area. The area we’ll be exploring is in the south around a small island called Kusu Island. This area is fantastic for snorkeling, offering us access to a truly amazing house reef and of course all the other nearby reefs which are only 5-20 minutes by boat. Halmahera is relatively new on the snorkeling scene, as the area just didn’t have the infrastructure to support tourism really at any level. Now, with several small airports and this one brand-new resort, we can indulge in the endless reefs, clouds of colorful reef fish, the lush tropical environment, and delicious food day after day. This snorkeling safari is escorted by a Snorkel Venture team member. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Marianne. May 2026 ‘This trip was amazing! Snorkel Venture knows the best places to take you for the most wonderful snorkeling experience possible. But on top of that, we were lucky enough to have Marcus as our guide. He made the trip seamless and the snorkeling an exciting adventure every day!’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![marine life guide Caribbean | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/reef-fish-turtle-critter-shark-ray.png) --- This tour is partnered with Thrive Conservation. [Find out how we support Thrive Conservation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Thrive-conservation-300x114.jpg) **Product categories:** Indonesia **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, One Stop Resort --- ### [Misool & Wakatobi Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-wakatobi-safari/) **Published:** September 14, 2020 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Arguably two of Indonesia's finest snorkeling destinations combined into one complete tour. This is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience. **Content:** Arguably two of Indonesia’s finest snorkeling destinations combined into one complete tour, our Misool & Wakatobi Safari is a once-in-a-lifetime experience spread over 18 full days of adventure. We’ll be based out of Misool Resort in the very south of Raja Ampat and later in Wakatobi Resort in the Wakatobi National Park just off of Sulawesi. Both locations offer something different in terms of the snorkeling experience. Our time in Raja Ampat will be spent surrounded by large schools of fish, good possibilities of manta ray encounters, and densely packed soft coral reefs that rise to the surface. In Wakatobi we can expect great visibility with endless coral reefs that play host to a huge range of reef creatures. The main differences between the locations is the topography and reef structure but also in the makeup and variety of the reefs themselves. ![reef manta cleaning on reef | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/IMG_5580.jpg) Misool Resort** is a paradise brimming with pristine coral reefs and more exotic marine species than you could possibly count in a single trip. The resort is exceptionally comfortable given its remote location. Because of the amazing conservation efforts taken on by the resort, the surrounding waters are extremely densely populated. This can be witnessed on the doorsteps of the resort with its abundant house reef and naturally occurring black tip reef shark nursery. Wakatobi Resort** is situated at the geographical center of the Coral Triangle, the most marine bio-diverse environment in the world. Wakatobi in particular is recognized as having the highest number of coral and fish species found anywhere on the planet and has a truly amazing house reef, which one can easily explore from the resort’s pier. The islands and reefs in the Wakatobi National Park have been preserved from the negative effects of large-scale tourism as the area is only accessible by private charter flight and liveaboard boats. While both these areas can have some current, which brings in the nutrient-rich water that helps keep the reef alive and healthy, our local guides will choose protected sites, or appropriate times to enter the water to avoid being in current. If we are ever in a current, we will always drift with the water and not try to swim against it. You should be comfortable in the water with some upper body strength to climb back up the ladder onto the boat. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Don & Veronica. March 2025 ‘Misool and Wakatobi were magical snorkeling locations and the resorts themselves were some of the best we’ve ever been to. Thank you so much for making our holiday so special and we look forward to further adventures with Snorkel Venture!’ --- **Marine Life Guide**![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) --- This tour is partnered with Misool Foundation. [Find out how we support Misool Foundation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/MisoolFoundation.Logo_.small_.white_-300x109.png) **Product categories:** Indonesia **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Island Hopping Safari --- ### [Banda Islands & Triton Bay Snorkeling Liveaboard | Coralia Dua](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/banda-islands-triton-bay-snorkeling-liveaboard-coralia-dua/) **Published:** February 6, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Snorkel safari to the remote reefs of the Banda Islands and Triton Bay. **Content:** Journey onboard the beautiful Coralia Dua snorkeling liveaboard as we explore the breathtaking reefs around the Banda Islands, followed by Triton Bay for more incredible reefs and whale sharks! ![Reefs on The Banda Sea | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1051710.jpg) We will board the vessel in Ambon, one of the critter capitals of Indonesia. We’ll then sail into the Banda Islands, aka the Spice Islands, where we’ll indulge in the rich history of the area and, of course, the reefs and brilliant marine life. The coral density of the Bandas makes it difficult to spot any patches of the reef’s limestone foundation. Expansive fringing shallow hard coral plateaus form many of the reefs. These extend from the islands before plunging into deep blue waters. Sponges, colorful soft corals, and sea fans cover these walls and slopes. Additionally, you can rest assured that there will also be plenty of reef dwellers including dazzling schools of tropical fish, larger pelagic species like tunas, jacks, and batfish passing in the blue, and juvenile reef sharks patrolling the shallows. The Banda Islands are historically significant in that they were the original spice islands that stimulated the entire global spice trade. We will have the opportunity to get a full tour of Banda Neira town. Here we’ll visit the fully intact colonial buildings and even a fort. We will also visit old nutmeg plantations and enjoy some delicious teas and biscuits garnished with nutmeg jam! ![Whale sharks with a snorkeler | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/P1077519.jpg) From the Banda Islands, we’ll make our way east into the area known as Triton Bay. Here, we’ll have the opportunity to snorkel around some incredible sites, with corals and marine life far different from what we’ve experienced in the Banda Sea, not to mention opportunities to snorkel alongside whale sharks and even dolphins. A Snorkel Venture team member accompanies the group and escorts the tour. *\* Please note that this particular itinerary covers a lot of territories. Thus, there will be multiple overnight crossings between regions. We will be in the open sea and exposed to the elements, particularly swell. If you have any reservations about what it’s like onboard a liveaboard, please [get in touch](https://snorkelventure.com/contact-us/) with us and/or read this [blog](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/02/16/everything-you-need-to-know-about-liveaboards/) about what you can expect from a liveaboard itinerary such as this.* --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) David Powel, May 2026 “Every aspect of each tour, from the initial point of contact through to the conduct of the tour itself, is first class. We particularly like the fact that Snorkel Ventures have a wide range of available snorkelling experiences and we have fully enjoyed every trip we have taken. The tours are so good that we already have bookings for 2027 and 2028.” --- **Marine Life Guide** ![marine life guide Caribbean | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/reef-fish-turtle-critter-shark-ray.png) --- This tour is partnered with Thrive Conservation. [Find out how we support Thrive Conservation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Thrive-conservation-300x114.jpg) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard Safari --- ### [Banda Islands and Raja Ampat Snorkeling Liveaboard | Coralia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/banda-islands-and-raja-ampat-snorkeling-liveaboard-coralia/) **Published:** March 13, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Snorkel safari to the remote reefs of the Banda Islands and Raja Ampat. **Content:** Journey onboard the beautiful Coralia snorkeling liveaboard as we explore the breathtaking reefs around the Banda Islands and Raja Ampat. We will board the vessel in Ambon, one of the critter capitals of Indonesia. Here in Ambon, it’s shallow reefs are the perfect hiding places for critters like seahorses, frogfish, octopus, nudibranchs, and a myriad of scorpionfish. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/DJI_20250930095704_0038_D-scaled.jpg) From Ambon, we’ll cruise into the Banda Islands, where we’ll spend several days exploring the incredible reefs and walls that make this area so special. These emerald islands are historically significant as they were the original spice islands that stimulated the entire spice trade. We will have the opportunity to get a full tour of Banda Neira town. Here we’ll tour the fully intact colonial buildings and even a fort which we’ll get to explore. We will also visit old nutmeg plantations and enjoy some delicious teas and biscuits garnished with nutmeg jam! From the Bandas, we’ll make a stop at an area called Koon, where we’ll spend the day snorkeling around this remote atoll. This is Eastern Indonesia’s largest known congregation spot for breeding fish, so with a bit of luck, we’ll be treated to some big fish action! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/P1051710-scaled.jpg) The final third of the trip will be spent in Raja Ampat, where we intend to spend some time in Misool, the Fam Islands, as well as the Dampier Strait. Finishing up in Raja will be the cherry on top of the ice cream that is this extensive liveaboard snorkeling safari! A Snorkel Venture team member accompanies the group and escorts the tour. *\*Please note that this particular itinerary covers a lot of territories. Thus, there will be multiple overnight crossings between regions. We will be in the open sea and exposed to the elements, particularly swell. If you have any reservations about what it’s like onboard a liveaboard, please [get in touch](https://snorkelventure.com/contact-us/) with us and/or read this [blog](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/02/16/everything-you-need-to-know-about-liveaboards/) about what you can expect from a liveaboard itinerary such as this.* **Marine Life Guide** ![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) --- This tour is partnered with Thrive Conservation. [Find out how we support Thrive Conservation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Thrive-conservation-300x114.jpg) **Product categories:** Uncategorised --- ### [Alor, Komodo & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **Published:** September 21, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Three of Indonesia's finest snorkeling destinations combined into one amazing tour. **Content:** Join us on an amazing adventure to 3 of Indonesia’s premier snorkeling destinations. We will snorkel Alor, Komodo, and Raja Ampat. This tour combines amazing reefs full of colorful marine life big and small, and three fantastic boutique resorts. Alor, Komodo and Raja Ampat are undeniably the crème de la crème of snorkeling destinations. Not only do they offer breathtaking underwater beauty, these locations also have a wealth of vibrant marine life and crystal-clear waters. ![Snorkel Alor | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/P1699706.jpg) At our first stop, Alor, we’ll be amazed by the sheer beauty of the marine life and reefscapes. In addition, we have good chances of encountering some of the ocean’s most iconic inhabitants. This includes a superpod of dolphins and melon head whales, giant ocean sunfish, and even blue whales as we move from between sites. We will snorkel Alor from the wonderful Alami Alor Resort, where we will have exclusive access to their house reef. Afterward, we move to a small island, Seraya, just outside Komodo National Park, where we’ll snorkel this truly amazing and unique region. We’ll enjoy pristine hard and soft corals in abundance here, as few people visit these places. Here we will find busy fish life and good chances of turtles, larger rays, and reef sharks cruising around. ![Snorkel Raja Ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/P1012134.jpg) Lastly, we will snorkel Raja Ampat from the fantastic Papua Explorers Resort. We’ll be located in the heart of the archipelago and therefore have access to a huge variety of snorkeling sites. They play host to some of the most diverse marine habitats found anywhere on the planet. Thus, we can expect pristine coral gardens with hard and soft corals that carpet the island slopes up to the surface. Moreover, masses of fish life explode from the reefs, with good chances of swimming next to bigger fish such as manta rays, reef sharks, and schools of barracuda and jacks. There are countless spectacular sites to snorkel Raja Ampat. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Tim M. Mar 2026 ‘The planning and precise execution makes these trips so enjoyable. Marcus is amazing – his photography, organization & infectious personality are what makes these wonderful trips so extra special!’ --- ### Marine Life Guide ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/coral-fish-turtle-mola-shark-critter-manta-2.png) --- This tour is partnered with Classroom Of Hope. [Find out how we support Classroom Of Hope via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** Uncategorised --- ### [Raja Ampat & Misool Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-north-to-south/) **Published:** June 2, 2023 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Explore the north & south of Raja Ampat from 2 resorts. **Content:** Join us on an extraordinary snorkel safari. We’ll take you to two of the best snorkeling destinations in the north and the south of Raja Ampat. We’ll stay in the best resorts in the area. This is the ultimate opportunity to snorkel Raja Ampat. ![snorkel Raja Ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/01/DJI_0118.jpg) We’ll start the trip at the stunning Papua Explorers Resort, located in the north of Raja Ampat. The bungalows are spacious and built on stilts over the expansive house reef. Located in the heart of the Dampier Strait, there is a variety of snorkeling sites. All play host to some of the most diverse marine habitats found anywhere on the planet. Most are within a few minutes of the resort. Expect stunning coral gardens packed with hard and soft corals that carpet the island’s slope and shallows. Additionally, there are masses of fish exploding from the reefs. We also have good chances of swimming next to bigger fish such as manta rays, reef sharks, and schools of barracuda and jacks. Thereafter, on our second stop, we will snorkel Misool, the southernmost set of islands in Raja Ampat. Misool is truly a paradise brimming with some of the most pristine coral reefs and more exotic marine species than you possibly count in a single trip. Misool Eco Resort is the only resort in this entire, largely uninhabited, area. However, the comfort and style of this resort is second to none. The surrounding waters are densely populated with sharks, rays, and swarms of fish big and small largely due to the amazing conservation efforts taken on by the resort. The house reef is simply breathtaking and we will have plenty of time to explore it. This snorkel safari starts and finishes in Jakarta. The group will be accompanied by a Snorkel Venture tour leader who will take care of all the details so that you can relax and enjoy the trip. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Lisa & Kirk. March 2026 ‘Our guide Marcus was an exceptional fun guide for our trip to Papua Explorers & Misool Resort in Raja Ampat. He communicated well and the whole group had such a good time. The coral & sealife was over the top beautiful, along with the accommodations & food’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) --- This tour is partnered with Misool Foundation. [Find out how we support Misool Foundation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Overland Safari **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Island Hopping Safari, Raja Ampat --- ### [Raja Ampat by Liveaboard | Coralia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/raja-ampat-by-liveaboard-coralia/) **Published:** October 27, 2020 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** The ultimate Raja Ampat safari in search of some of the world's finest snorkeling. **Content:** Join us as we explore the amazing reefs of Raja Ampat by a luxury Liveaboard built in the traditional Indonesian ‘phinisi’ style. Raja Ampat is comprised of a vast network of over six hundred islands, and the best way to experience the whole area – from the north’s Dampier Strait to Misool in the south – is by a liveaboard. ![Over under with coral reef below and islands above | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/IMG_8789-copy.jpg) From Sorong we will head south towards Misool. Misool’s small limestone islands with their unique mushroom shape are a paradise for the colorful soft corals. The abundance of stunning snorkeling sites and the natural beauty of limestone-jungle-clad islands means we will have no shortage of places to explore and fish to gawk at. We will then slowly head north to the Dampier Strait for the last part of the tour. Raja Ampat’s northern region, known as the Dampier Strait, has so much to offer – with spectacular soft corals swaying in the water and sea fan forests that have to be seen to be believed. For the duration of the trip, we can expect several species of reef sharks as well as wobbegong (carpet) sharks, and Epaulette (walking) sharks. We hope to see oceanic and reef manta rays as they come to be cleaned and feed on the plankton on the surface. Turtles (green and hawksbill) abound too, along with schooling fish like jacks, barracuda, and all the brightly colored reef fish like various species of butterfly, angel, trigger, parrot, sweetlips, surgeonfish, and more. This snorkeling safari is escorted by a Snorkel Venture team member. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Adam. Feb 2025 ‘The full tour was a 10 night liveaboard on the Coralia exploring Raja Ampat. Snorkel Venture’s experience and organisation was evident from start to finish, I felt completely looked after. Alex was our tour leader, a clearly experienced guide, he was well organised and a great communicator, his easy charm and humour ensured a happy group. ‘ --- **Marine Life Guide**![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) --- This tour is partnered with No Trash Triangle Initiative. [Find out how we support NTTI via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![NTTI logo featuring a coral-colored circular emblem with a branching coral and the text 'NTTI' and 'No-Trash Triangle Initiative' in coral letters | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/NTTI_Logo_second_print_coral_trans-300x135.png) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard Safari, Raja Ampat --- ### [Alor, West Komodo & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-west-komodo-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **Published:** October 31, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Three of Indonesia's finest snorkeling destinations combined into one amazing tour. **Content:** Join us on an amazing adventure to 3 of Indonesia’s premier snorkeling destinations. We will snorkel Alor, West Komodo, and Raja Ampat. This tour combines amazing reefs full of colorful marine life big and small, and three fantastic boutique resorts. Alor, West Komodo and Raja Ampat are undeniably the crème de la crème of snorkeling destinations. Not only do they offer breathtaking underwater beauty, these locations also have a wealth of vibrant marine life and crystal-clear waters. ![Snorkel Alor | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/P1699706.jpg) At our first stop, Alor, we’ll be amazed by the sheer beauty of the marine life and reefscapes. In addition, we have good chances of encountering some of the ocean’s most iconic inhabitants. This includes a superpod of dolphins and melon head whales, giant ocean sunfish, and even blue whales as we move from between sites. We will snorkel Alor from the wonderful Alami Alor Resort, where we will have exclusive access to their house reef. Afterwards, we move to the northeast coast of Sumbawa where we’ll snorkel four truly amazing and unique regions. We will snorkel West Komodo, Sangeang Volcano, Gili Banta, and Eastern Sumbawa. We’ll enjoy pristine hard and soft corals in abundance here, as few people visit these places. Here we will find busy fish life and good chances of turtles, larger rays, and reef sharks cruising around. We’ll also swim over bubbling black sands around Sangeang Volcano where hyper-rich reefs are unlike any of the others in the region. ![Snorkel Raja Ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/P1012134.jpg) Lastly, we will snorkel Raja Ampat from the fantastic Papua Explorers Resort. We’ll be located in the heart of the archipelago and therefore have access to a huge variety of snorkeling sites. They play host to some of the most diverse marine habitats found anywhere on the planet. Thus, we can expect pristine coral gardens with hard and soft corals that carpet the island slopes up to the surface. Moreover, masses of fish life explode from the reefs, with good chances of swimming next to bigger fish such as manta rays, reef sharks, and schools of barracuda and jacks. There are countless spectacular sites to snorkel Raja Ampat. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Tim M. Mar 2026 ‘The planning and precise execution makes these trips so enjoyable. Marcus is amazing – his photography, organization & infectious personality are what makes these wonderful trips so extra special!’ --- ### Marine Life Guide ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/coral-fish-turtle-mola-shark-critter-manta-2.png) --- This tour is partnered with Classroom Of Hope. [Find out how we support Classroom Of Hope via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Overland Safari **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Island Hopping Safari, Komodo, Raja Ampat --- ### [Raja Ampat - Banda Sea - Alor Snorkeling Liveaboard | Mermaid II](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-banda-sea-snorkeling-liveaboard-mermaid-ii/) **Published:** August 21, 2023 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Snorkel safari to the remote reefs of Raja Ampat, the Banda Sea, and Alor. **Content:** Journey with us on board the beautiful Mermaid II for this epic snorkeling liveaboard through Raja Ampat, the Banda Sea’s Forgotten Islands, the Banda Islands, and finally into the Alor area. We’ll start by exploring the incredible reefs and biodiversity of Raja Ampat before before heading into the heart of the mighty Banda Sea, where we’ll hop from remote volcanic islands and atolls. We’ll spend time exploring the reefs of the Banda Islands, after which we will make our way into of the Lesser Sunda Islands (Lembata, Alor, Wetar) for the last stage of this tour. This is quite possibly the most epic liveaboard snorkeling adventure we have on offer! We plan to spend the majority of this tour exploring the Banda Sea as it’s a very remote and unique part of Indonesia. The infrequency of people visiting this isolated part of the ocean has kept its reefs in absolutely stunning condition! Here, we can expect shallow reefs full of color where exquisite species of reef fish thrive in clear blue water. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/P1065279-scaled.jpg) We will board the vessel in Sorong, the main port to Raja Ampat. We’ll then sail south through the Dampier Strait into Misool, before continuing into the mighty Banda Sea, where we’ll cruise into the Banda Islands. These are the original spice islands, which stimulated the entire spice trade. We will have the chance to get a full tour of Banda Neira town. It has fully intact colonial buildings and even a fort, which we’ll get to explore. We’ll then get to see the old nutmeg plantations and enjoy some delicious teas and biscuits garnished with nutmeg jam! The reefs and sea life around these emerald islands are sensational! From the Bandas, we’ll move in a gentle arc heading south through the Forgotten Islands, stopping at a new volcanic island or atoll each day until we reach the Lesser Sunda Islands where the landscape changes significantly. At many sites on this trip, the coral is so dense that it’s hard to see any patches of the reef’s limestone foundation. Many of the reefs are made up of large fringing shallow plateaus that extend from the island or atoll, eventually dropping off into deep blue walls covered in sponges, colorful soft corals, and sea fans. If conditions permit, we can also visit one of the “Snake Islands,” where a rare species of sea snake, the Black Banded Sea Krait, lives in impressive numbers. It’s not uncommon to see twenty to thirty of these beautiful (not dangerous) animals as they hunt on the reefs in groups. There are only a few places in the world where we can encounter this; we’ll have the opportunity to spend a day here. ![Aerial view of the landscape we explore on this snorkeling liveaboard | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/Banda_2-Layer-Pano_1-scaled.jpg) You will be escorted by a Snorkel Venture tour leader for this snorkeling liveaboard trip. *\*Please note that this particular itinerary covers a lot of territories and therefore involves multiple overnight crossings between regions where we will be in the open sea and more exposed to the elements, particularly swell. If you have any reservations or hesitations about what it’s like onboard a liveaboard, please [get in touch](https://snorkelventure.com/contact-us/) with us and/or read this [blog](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/02/16/everything-you-need-to-know-about-liveaboards/) about what you can expect from a liveaboard itinerary such as this.* --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Breanne E. Nov 2025 ‘I did the Snorkel Liveaboard trip through the Forgotten Islands and Misool in Indonesia in November 2025. It was a trip of a lifetime for me. We were the only boat and definitely the only snorkelers at many times on this trip which it made it even more special.’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/reef-fish-turtle-shark-mantas-snakes.png) --- This tour is partnered with Thrive Conservation. [Find out how we support Thrive Conservation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Thrive-conservation-300x114.jpg) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard Safari, Raja Ampat --- ### [North Indonesia Snorkel Safari | Sulawesi-Halmahera-Raja Ampat](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/north-indonesia-snorkeling-safari/) **Published:** July 14, 2022 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** An amazing Indonesia safari that combines pristine reefs and big fish! **Content:** Join us on this epic overland snorkel safari as we explore the reefs of northern Indonesia. On this three-stop guide-led snorkel safari, we will spend three weeks exploring the vibrant shallow coral reefs of Bunaken, Halmahera, and Raja Ampat. This tour is the perfect blend of upscale boutique snorkeling resorts, idyllic tropical locations, stunning reefs, and big fish. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/P1088753-1.jpg) This tour will begin in North Sulawesi’s Bunaken National Park, one of Indonesia’s oldest marine reserves. From the comfort of a lovely island resort, we’ll be able to explore all the area’s best reefs with ease. Bunaken is famous for a lot of things, but it’s most known for its massive turtle population. As we explore the shallow coral plateaus that extend from the different islands, we are sure to see multiple turtles as they come to the surface for a quick breath or just cruise over the reefs. Halmahera is the large, odd-shaped island just west of the Raja Ampat area. The area we’ll be exploring is in the south, around a small island called Kusu Island. This area is fantastic for snorkeling, offering us unlimited access to a truly amazing house reef and several other nearby reefs, which are only 5-20 minutes by boat. Halmahera is relatively new on the snorkeling scene, as the area previously didn’t have the infrastructure to support tourism. Now, with several small airports and this new resort, we can indulge in the endless reefs, clouds of colorful reef fish, and the lush tropical environment from a comfortable resort serving delicious food. The area of Raja Ampat that we’ll be exploring is in the northern region around the Dampier Strait. This area has so much to offer snorkelers – with spectacular soft corals swaying in the water, hard coral plateaus that breach the surface at low tide, and sea fan forests that have to be seen to be believed. Where marine life is concerned, we can expect several species of reef sharks, as well as wobbegongs and walking sharks. We hope to see manta rays as they come to be cleaned and feed on the plankton at the surface. Turtles (green and hawksbill) abound too, along with schooling fish like jacks, barracuda, and, of course, all the brightly colored reef fish like butterflyfish, angelfish, triggerfish, parrotfish, sweetlips, surgeonfish, and more. This snorkeling safari is escorted by a Snorkel Venture team member. ***Please note that Kusu Island Resort does not have 24-hour power.** The resort turns off the generator that powers the resort at midnight and then back on again at 6:00 am. The rooms do remain cool with the sea breeze throughout the night, particularly with the balcony doors open.* --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Moira. Oct 2024 ‘My third trip with Snorkel Venture, & coincidentally with tour leader Marcus, so obviously I think they are special. Excellent accommodation, food, service. Low guest to local snorkel guide ratio, & these guys know their way around. Marcus’s in-depth knowledge of Indonesia, in and out of the water, just adds to the experience’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) --- This tour is partnered with Thrive Conservation. [Find out how we support Thrive Conservation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Thrive-conservation-300x114.jpg) **Product categories:** Indonesia **Tour Categories:** Indonesia --- ### [Misool Resort Snorkel Tour | 11 Nights](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/misool-resort-snorkeling-tours/) **Published:** September 7, 2020 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Excerpt:** Beauty above and below the surface from a stunning region of remote Raja Ampat. **Content:** Explore some of the richest and most diverse marine habitats on the planet with a stay at Misool Resort. Located on an idyllic island in the far fringes of Indonesia, Misool is a paradise brimming with pristine coral reefs and more exotic marine life than you could possibly count on in a single trip. The resort is exceptionally comfortable, and given its remote location and you can relax and snorkel in absolute peace. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1255475-scaled.jpg) Expect healthy colorful reef teeming with fish large and small, turtles, reef sharks, and a variety of smaller critters. We will also snorkel over manta cleaning stations looking for these gentle giants. Because of the amazing conservation efforts taken on by the resort, there is a huge surge in the marine life’s population and you can witness it on the doorsteps of the resort with their juvenile blacktip reef shark nursery which has naturally occurred. While this area can have some strong currents, which bring in the nutrient-rich water that helps keep the reef alive and healthy, our local guides will choose protected sites, or appropriate times to enter the water to avoid being in current. If we are ever in a current, we will always float with the water and not try to swim against it. For this tour you should be comfortable in the water with some upper body strength to climb back up the ladder onto the boat. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Vicki. May 2025 ‘We had a great trip with Snorkel Venture on a 12 night trip to Misool resort. The logistics were well planned and executed. The resort was great and we were well taken care of by the staff. The reefs were fantastic and we saw a lot of things- turtles, black tip reef sharks!’ --- **Marine Life Guide**[![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png)](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QNl6es8Phyc) --- This tour is partnered with Misool Foundation. [Find out how we support Misool Foundation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/MisoolFoundation.Logo_.small_.white_-300x109.png) **Product categories:** Indonesia **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, One Stop Resort, Raja Ampat --- ### [Bunaken, Bangka & Raja Ampat Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-raja-ampat-snorkel-safari/) **Published:** November 6, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Varied reefs, abundant marine life and little critters feature in this 3 week overland safari. **Content:** Join us on an amazing adventure to 3 of Indonesia’s top snorkeling destinations – Bunaken, Bangka Island, and Raja Ampat. This tour combines amazing reefs full of colorful marine life big and small, and three fantastic boutique resorts that will look after our every need! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1599020-scaled.jpg) Our first stop will be north of Sulawesi where we’ll be based in the award-winning Siladen Resort. We’ll explore the best snorkeling sites in one of Indonesia’s oldest marine protected areas, Bunaken National Park. From the comfort of a lovely island resort, we’ll be able to explore all the area’s reefs with ease. Bunaken is famous for stunning shallow corals, a bounty of reef fish, but it’s most known for its turtle population. We will make our second stop at the newly renovated Coral Eye Resort on Bangka Island. Here in Bangka, we’ll blown away by the sheer beauty and density of the marine life and reefscapes. If we’re lucky, we may see the resident dugong, known to cruise the shallow waters surrounding the resort. Although they’re rarely seen in most other parts of the Indo-Pacific, they’re regularly spotted around this magical little island. Bunaken National Park and Bangka Island are geographically close, the reefs, on the other hand, couldn’t look more different. ![Snorkel Indonesia | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/DJI_20240911095729_0005_D.jpg) We’ll then snorkel Raja Ampat, from the wonderful Papua Explorers Resort, located in the heart of this famous archipelago. It’s the perfect place from which to snorkel Raja Ampat. Just a few minutes from the resort, there is a huge variety of snorkeling sites that play host to some of the most diverse marine habitats found anywhere on the planet. Expect truly pristine coral gardens packed with hard and soft corals that carpet the island slopes all the way up to the surface. Masses of fish life explode from the reefs, with good chances of swimming next to bigger fish such as manta rays, reef sharks, and schools of barracuda and jacks. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Kim W. May 2026 ‘My husband and I had the great privilege of joining 11 other snorkeling enthusiasts on a Snorkel Venture 19-day tour of Bunaken, Bangka & Raja Ampat. It was an excellent experience from my very first inquiry to the moment we said goodbye to the group at the end of the tour’ --- ### Marine Life Guide ![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) --- This tour is partnered with No Trash Triangle Initiative. [Find out how we support NTTI via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![NTTI logo featuring a coral-colored circular emblem with a branching coral and the text 'NTTI' and 'No-Trash Triangle Initiative' in coral letters | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/NTTI_Logo_second_print_coral_trans-300x135.png) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Overland Safari **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Island Hopping Safari, Raja Ampat --- ### [Belize Freediving Workshop and Snorkeling Tour | Turneffe Island Resort](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-shallow-freediving-workshop-at-turneffe-island-resort/) **Published:** July 31, 2023 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Looking to improve your snorkeling skills, join our experts in Belize. **Content:** Turneffe makes for an ideal location to host our Belize Freediving Workshop and Snorkeling tour. Aside from the beautiful reefs and clear waters, there are a number of protected areas to explore with varying depth levels. Throughout the course of this freediving workshop, there will be lectures, training session in the resort’s pool, and in-water practical sessions with our Freediving Instructor Emma, all of which will give you time and opportunity to improve your skills. We’ll be based at Turneffe Island Resort for the duration of the tour. We’ll be accompanied by a freediving expert (Emma Farrell) and an assistant, who both bring along a wealth of experience. All this is of course combined with plenty of time for snorkeling over the reefs at your leisure. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1071678-copy-scaled.jpg) The Turneffe Atoll, which is just a few miles off of Belize’s coastline, plays host to an array of marine life, large and small, and will be where we spend the majority of our time. Additionally, we will spend one day snorkeling and freediving in the Blue Hole, Halfmoon Quay, and Long Quay. The reefs themselves are truly fantastic, with a mixture of hard corals and layers of sea fans. The visibility can be crystal clear, allowing us to see all the way down to where the reef slopes into the blue abyss. Marine life is abundant with lobster colonies, schools of tangs and grunts, groups of spotted eagle rays, stingrays, and the occasional nurse shark. **Trip Leader and Instructor** ![Instructor, Belize freediving Workshop | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Emma-Farrel.jpg) **Emma Farrell** is one of the world’s leading freediving instructors and the author of [*One Breath: A Reflection on Freediving*](https://gofreediving.co.uk/product/one-breath). She has been teaching since 2003 and is a multi-agency freediving instructor trainer. She has taught programs through RAID, SSI, and AIDA. As a founding member of the AIDA Education Commission, Emma has written courses that are taught internationally, as well as her own specialty freediving and breathing courses. Her work with gold medal-winning Olympic and Paralympic athletes over the last decade has resulted in her unique Breathing Optimisation program. This has helped people across the globe improve their breathing, lung function, and health, no matter their age, physical condition, or ability. An accomplished educator and public speaker, Emma has appeared many times on television and in print media, as well as acting as a consultant on short and feature films and documentaries. **Is this trip right for me?** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/P1022037-scaled.jpg) There are no formal requirements for this trip. However, the trip would appeal most to experienced snorkelers with 25hrs + in-water time, being of good health and fitness. The maximum depth for the free diving sessions will be 8 meters (26 feet). This tour is not about achieving depth. Generally, training sessions will be geared towards exploring the 5-meter depth range while achieving a good body position, improving our breathing and equalization techniques. **Marine Life Guide**![marine life guide wakatobi | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/reef-fish-turtle-critter-rays.png) **Product categories:** Belize, Freediving-Photo Workshop **Tour Categories:** Belize, Free Dive & Photo Workshops --- ### [Cenderawasih Bay by Liveaboard | Coralia Liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/cenderawasih-bay-by-liveaboard-coralia-liveaboard/) **Published:** January 14, 2022 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Journey onboard Coralia Liveaboard in search of whale sharks. **Content:** Join us as we explore one of the most iconic areas of Indonesia’s Bird’s Head Seascape-Cenderawasih Bay. Cenderawasih Bay is well known as one of the best spots in the world to find quite large congregations of whale sharks, not to mention beautiful reefs and lots of fish. Cenderawasih Bay is a very remote region in West Papua and as a result, there has been very little impact from humans which means the reefs are still in amazing condition and the marine life is abundant. Liveaboards are the only way to access this remote area and so we’ve charted an amazing luxury wooden liveaboard built in the traditional Indonesian ‘phinisi’ style to be our floating resort for this 11-night snorkeling safari. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/P1777497.jpg) Cenderawasih Bay is a giant bay in the north of West Papua Indonesia and is really only accessible by liveaboard given its remote location. Arguably, the most famous aspect of this massive bay is its unique ability to attract whale sharks. If you google “Cenderawasih Bay”, you will be bombarded with images of whale sharks. With that in mind, we will obviously be spending a solid amount of time on this tour looking for, and swimming with whale sharks (knock on wood) which are attracted to the large fishing platforms known as bagans. Along with whale sharks, you can expect to cruise over beautiful reefs full of marine life like turtles and schools of fish big and small. You will also no doubt encounter the much smaller relatives of the whale shark like blacktip and white tip reefs sharks, as well as the famous walking sharks and wobbegong sharks. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Cristina N. July 2024 ‘What makes this trip amazing is of course the fact that we got to snorkel for 2 days with 18 different whale sharks, big males and also some juvenile. We were very close to the sharks and had plenty of swim time with them. This was one of the most amazing experiences of my life.’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/reef-fish-turtle-shark-critter-ray.png) --- This tour is partnered with Thrive Conservation. [Find out how we support Thrive Conservation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Thrive-conservation-300x114.jpg) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard Safari --- ### [Komodo and Alor by Snorkel Liveaboard | Naga Biru](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/komodo-and-alor-by-snorkel-liveaboard/) **Published:** January 29, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Snorkel safari to the remote reefs of Komodo, Alor, and beyond by liveaboard **Content:** Join us for an extraordinary snorkel liveaboard adventure through both Komodo and Alor and the islands in between. We’ll be on board the lovely Naga Biru liveaboard, which we’ve chartered exclusively for our group. We’ll start the tour snorkeling around Komodo before heading east around the islands of Flores and Lembata, snorkeling along the way, before arriving to Alor where we’ll indulge in all the fantastic reefs and marine life Alor has become famous for. ![Naga Biru Liveaboard snorkeling Komodo and Alor | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/01/NAGA-BIRU-1-scaled.jpg) We’ll be covering a lot of territory and visiting locations not otherwise accessible from a resort, one of the advantages of a liveaboard charter such as this. The Naga Biru will be our floating home for the duration of this tour. With it, we’ll snorkel Komodo, Alor, and the islands in between while enjoying all the luxuries and amenities of a comfortable resort, while also indulging in the exhilarating experiences of exploring seldom-visited reefs and islands. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/11/P1050480.jpg) The infrequency of snorkelers and divers visiting this isolated region has kept its reefs in absolutely stunning condition! We expect to experience a vast array of reef types, each with its own unique blend of marine life. On this tour, it’s not uncommon to see just about every type of anemone fish in Indonesia, cuttlefish, octopus, frogfish, various species of crab and shrimp, nudibranchs, reef sharks, mantas, turtles, scorpion fish in all shapes, sizes, and colors, sea snakes, sea horses, and so much more! This trip really offers it all! A member of the Snorkel Venture team escorts the group for the duration of this snorkel liveaboard tour. *\*Please note that this particular itinerary covers a lot of territory and, therefore, involves multiple overnight crossings between regions. You will be in the open sea and more exposed to the elements, particularly swell. If you have any reservations or hesitations about what it’s like onboard a liveaboard, please [get in touch](https://snorkelventure.com/contact-us/) with us and/or read this [blog](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/02/16/everything-you-need-to-know-about-liveaboards/) about what you can expect from a liveaboard itinerary such as this.* --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Mary R. Sep 2025 ‘Marcus, the crew of Naga Biru, and Snorkel Venture made Komodo trip magical! Everyone was so knowledgeable and accommodating! We can’t wait to do it all again, and again, and again!’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![marine life guide Alor and Komodo | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/coral-fish-turtle-mola-shark-critter-manta-1.png) --- This tour is partnered with Thrive Conservation. [Find out how we support Thrive Conservation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Thrive-conservation-300x114.jpg) **Product categories:** Uncategorised --- ### [Forgotten Islands Snorkeling Liveaboard | Coralia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/forgotten-islands-snorkeling-liveaboard-coralia/) **Published:** July 9, 2026 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Snorkel safari to the remote reefs of the Banda Sea's Forgotten Islands. **Content:** Journey aboard the beautiful Coralia snorkeling liveaboard as we explore the breathtaking reefs of the Forgotten Islands of the Banda Sea. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/P1051710-scaled.jpg) We will board the vessel in Saumlaki, one of the easternmost islands in Indonesia. We’ll then sail west and then north through the Banda Sea, exploring a chain of islands and atolls known as the Forgotten Islands. One of the main attractions of the Banda Sea, outside of the fact that we will most likely be the only boat in the area, is the reefs. They are absolutely mind-blowing. For most of the sites, the coral is so dense you will be hard-pressed to see any patches of the reef’s limestone foundation. Many of the reefs are made up of expansive fringing shallow hard coral plateaus that extend from the island or atoll and then eventually drop off into deep blue as walls or slopes covered in sponges, colorful soft corals, and sea fans. Aside from the stunning coral gardens, you can rest assured that there will also be plenty of everyone’s favorite reef dwellers like dazzling schools of tropical fish, larger pelagic species like tunas, jacks, and batfish passing in the blue, and juvenile reef sharks patrolling the shallows. If the weather permits, we’ll also spend a day around Manuk, Indonesia’s most easterly volcano, which is home to an impressive colony of sea snakes! As it’s also the time of the year when the blue whales start their migration south to Australia, it’s not impossible to spot one or several from the boat. A Snorkel Venture team member accompanies the group and escorts the tour. *\*Please note that this particular itinerary covers a lot of territories. Thus, there will be multiple overnight crossings between regions. We will be in the open sea and exposed to the elements, particularly swell. If you have any reservations about what it’s like on board a liveaboard, please [get in touch](https://snorkelventure.com/contact-us/) with us and/or read this [blog](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/02/16/everything-you-need-to-know-about-liveaboards/) about what you can expect from a liveaboard itinerary such as this.* **Marine Life Guide** ![marine life guide Caribbean | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/reef-fish-turtle-critter-shark-ray.png) --- This tour is partnered with Thrive Conservation. [Find out how we support Thrive Conservation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Thrive-conservation-300x114.jpg) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard Safari --- ### [Belize Snorkel Week - Turneffe Island Resort | 7 Nights](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/belize-snorkeling-resort-based-safari/) **Published:** September 14, 2020 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Relaxing reef snorkeling around Turneffe Atoll and the Blue Hole from a beautiful resort location. **Content:** Join us for an unforgettable snorkel trip to Belize, where we’ll explore the Caribbean’s best reefs found around Turneffe Island. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1011230-scaled.jpg) This 8-night tour includes 7 nights at Turneffe Atoll and 1 night on the Belize mainland for land tours. Turneffe Atoll is the largest coral atoll in Belize, located just 30 kilometers from Belize City. While the majority of the week will be spent exploring the area around Turneffe Atoll, we will have a day where we’ll venture out to snorkel in the Blue Hole, Halfmoon Quay, and Long Quay. The reefs themselves are truly fantastic, with a mixture of hard corals and layers of sea fans that actually break the surface at times. The visibility can be crystal clear, allowing us to see all the way down to where the reef slopes into a vertical wall dropping into the blue abyss. Marine life is in abundance, with everything from lobster colonies, schools of tangs and grunts, to groups of spotted eagle rays, and even the occasional nurse shark can be seen cruising over the reefs. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Karen. March 2025 ‘From the moment I stepped off the plane, I knew I was in good hands, and my expectations were absolutely exceeded. Snorkel Venture took care of EVERYTHING – from the moment I arrived to when I left, they made sure every detail was thoughtfully planned and executed. They didn’t leave a single stone unturned!’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![marine life guide Caribbean | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/reef-fish-turtle-critter-shark-ray.png) --- This tour is partnered with the Manta Trust. [Find out how we support the Manta Trust via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** Belize **Tour Categories:** Belize, One Stop Resort --- ### [Maldives Manta Research Expedition by Liveaboard | Black Manta](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/maldives-manta-research-expedition-by-liveaboard-black-manta/) **Published:** July 21, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Manta research expedition to the Maldives, where you get to participate in the research alongside manta experts. **Content:** This Maldives Manta Research Expedition is arguably one of our most unique snorkel safaris in our growing catalogue of snorkeling adventures. For this unique snorkel safari, we’ve teamed up with our friends at Manta Trust in the Maldives, to run an educational and hands on snorkeling research expedition centered around the manta rays in the Maldives. This expedition aims to offer a new way of experiencing the stunning marine environment of the Maldives. Accompanied by Manta Trust researchers with years of expertise in marine research and conservation, we will be able to immerse ourselves in the beautiful and diverse marine life of the Maldives while understanding its importance, its fragility and what we can do to protect it. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/Reef-Manta-Ray-Manta-alfredi-Hanifaru-Bay-Baa-Atoll-Maldives-©-Guy-Stevens-Manta-Trust-2009-3-1-scaled.jpg) Through various engaging activities such as convivial presentations, photo-ID workshops, and island clean-ups, we can all become citizen scientists and contribute to the preservation of the fragile marine ecosystem of the Maldives. A researcher from Manta Trust will organize these activities to enhance our understanding of the beauty and importance of the marine environment, as well as our precious natural resources. The itinerary is designed to provide a wide range of marine-themed experiences, including snorkeling on vibrant coral reefs and swimming with schools of giant manta rays, sharks, and curious sea turtles. Importantly, we maintain a flexible itinerary to maximize opportunities for unforgettable encounters with megafauna, utilizing real-time intel from Manta Trust’s on-site research team. This expedition is carefully timed to align with the most productive season and lunar currents, which significantly affect the movements and feeding habits of reef manta rays. The goal of these trips is to leverage the expertise of Manta Trust to locate feeding aggregations, allowing guests to marvel at the spectacle of being surrounded by these gentle giants during feeding frenzies. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DJI_0044.jpg) *\*Please note that this particular itinerary covers a lot of territories and therefore may involve multiple overnight crossings between regions. This means we will be in the open sea and more exposed to the elements, particularly swell. If you have any reservations about what it’s like onboard a liveaboard, please [get in touch](https://snorkelventure.com/contact-us/) with us. Please read this [blog](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/02/16/everything-you-need-to-know-about-liveaboards/) about what you can expect from a snorkel liveaboard experience such as this. Also note the engines and water purifiers can be heard while on liveaboard trips.* **Marine Life Guide** ![marine life guide Raja Ampat Triton Bay | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/reef-fish-turtle-whaleshark-shark-critters-manta.png) --- This tour is partners with Manta Trust. Find our how we support Manta Trust via this tour here. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Manta-Trust.png) **Product categories:** Maldives **Tour Categories:** Maldives --- ### [Alor Snorkel Tour - Big Creatures and Small Critters | 11 Nights](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-safari/) **Published:** September 7, 2020 **Author:** Ben Stokes **Excerpt:** Indonesia's best kept secret with pristine reefs, fishy sites and good chances of pelagics. **Content:** Journey to this remote corner of Indonesia and snorkel some of the most pristine reefs found anywhere in the world. We’ll have good chances of encountering blue whales, pods of dolphins, and mola molas. We have been visiting Alor for many years and it continues to be one of our most exciting and interesting locations. Situated in the heart of the “Coral Triangle” you can expect many hours of snorkeling over incredible hard and soft coral reefs that are just exploding with life big and small. We’ve specifically planned this tour for July, which is one of the best months to spot blue whales as they migrate through Alor on their way north into the Banda Sea from Western Australia. This tour will also coincide with the new moon which brings upwellings of cold water along with mola mola which gives us the unique opportunity to swim with them as they paddle along on the surface. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/P1677515-1.jpg) We base ourselves on the secluded island of Alor in the eastern reaches of Indonesia. With very few other resorts in the area, we have almost exclusive access to a vast number of spectacular snorkel sites to explore. As we float over the fields of pristine corals we’re likely to encounter a huge variety of fish- big and small, with endless opportunities to find some of the ocean’s most interesting critters like nudibranchs, octopus, and a variety of scorpionfish. Private boat trips take you to the most outstanding snorkel spots in the area, exotic marine life is guaranteed with your stay backed up by the comforts of a beautiful resort in complete seclusion. As this is one of the best months to see blue whales, we hope to encounter them as we move from one site to the next, or even from the resort if they come into the bay. The primary focus of this tour is snorkeling the reefs, but if we get lucky with a blue whale or several we may devote some extra time to staying with them as there is nothing quite like being next to the largest animal ever to live. The resort also has an impressive house reef which is easily accessible and is great for photography. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Glenn W. Dec 2023 ‘Everything about Alami Alor was 5 star – the rooms, the staff, the guides, the food, the setting, the customer service!’ --- ### Marine Life Guide ### ![marine life guide alor | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/reef-fish-turtle-mola-shark-critter.png) --- This tour is partnered with No Trash Triangle Initiative. [Find out how we support NTTI via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![NTTI logo featuring a coral-colored circular emblem with a branching coral and the text 'NTTI' and 'No-Trash Triangle Initiative' in coral letters | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/NTTI_Logo_second_print_coral_trans-300x135.png) **Product categories:** Indonesia **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, One Stop Resort --- ### [Egypt Snorkeling Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-snorkeling-safari-2025/) **Published:** August 10, 2023 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Egyptian history, amazing coral reefs and an all encompassing safari through the southern Red Sea. **Content:** Crystal-clear blue water, thriving coral reefs that start at the water’s surface and extend as far as the eye can see, and a host of unique and beautiful marine life are just some of the reasons why the Red Sea has been one of the world’s most popular snorkeling destinations for decades. Take all of that and throw in an outstanding unique resort and liveaboard with world-class service, a stop at the famous pyramids, a guided tour of the Great Egyptian Museum, all accompanied by a professional and uniquely charming Photo Pro/Snorkel Guide who’s spent the better part of his adult life working in Egypt, and you have all the necessary ingredients for the snorkeling adventure of a lifetime. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/P1555096.jpg) We don’t want you to miss out on anything that snorkeling in Egypt offers so we’ve not only included a stop in one of the area’s best resorts at Marsa Shagra for its iconic house reef with visits by friendly pods of dolphins and the odd dugong, but we’ve also chartered the Red Sea Aggressor IV for a liveaboard safari, taking us to the southern reefs where the marine life is most abundant. **Marine Life Guide** ![Egypt marine life guide | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/reef-fish-turtle-shark-dugong-dolphin.png) --- This tour is partnered with the Manta Trust. [Find out how we support the Manta Trust via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** Egypt **Tour Categories:** Egypt --- ### [Islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/islands-of-sulawesi-and-halmahera-snorkel-safari/) **Published:** July 18, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Varied reefs, abundant marine life, and exquisite resorts feature in this snorkel safari. **Content:** Join us on an amazing adventure to two of Indonesia’s newest and most luxurious snorkel destinations: the northern islands of Sulawesi and Halmahera. This tour combines stunning reefs full of colorful marine life, pristine white sand beaches, and two fantastic boutique resorts that will cater to our every need! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/DJI_20240911095729_0005_D.jpg) Our first stop will be north of Sulawesi, where we’ll be based in the newly renovated Coral Eye Resort on Bangka Island. Here in Bangka, we’ll be blown away by the sheer beauty and density of the marine life and reefscapes. If we’re lucky, we may spot the resident dugong, which is known to cruise the shallow waters surrounding the resort. Although they’re rarely seen in most other parts of the Indo-Pacific, they’re regularly spotted around this magical little island. During our stay at Coral Eye we will also enjoy two unique day trips, one to Lembeh and another to Siladen. We’ll then move on to southern Halmahera, where we’ll be staying at the stunning Kusu Island resort, which we’ll have all to ourselves. This area is fantastic for snorkeling, offering us unlimited access to a truly amazing house reef and numerous other nearby reefs, which are just 5-20 minutes away by boat. Halmahera is relatively new to the snorkeling scene, as the area previously lacked the infrastructure to support tourism. Now, with several small airports and this brand-new resort, we can indulge in the endless reefs, clouds of colorful reef fish, and the lush tropical environment from a comfortable resort serving delicious food. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Kim W. May 2026 ‘It was an excellent experience from my very first inquiry to the moment we said goodbye to the group at the end of the tour. Our tour consultant, Kelly, did a terrific job’ --- ### Marine Life Guide ![marine life guide wakatobi | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/reef-fish-turtle-critter-rays.png) --- This tour is partnered with No Trash Triangle Initiative. [Find out how we support NTTI via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![NTTI logo featuring a coral-colored circular emblem with a branching coral and the text 'NTTI' and 'No-Trash Triangle Initiative' in coral letters | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/NTTI_Logo_second_print_coral_trans-300x135.png) **Product categories:** Indonesia **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Island Hopping Safari --- ### [Bunaken & Bangka Island Shallow Freediving Workshop](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/bunaken-bangka-island-shallow-freediving-workshop/) **Published:** July 18, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Improve your freediving skills with a professional freediving instructor in the heart of the Coral Triangle. **Content:** Bunaken National Park and Bangka Island, on the north coast of Sulawesi in Indonesia, provide an ideal setting for this exciting freediving workshop and snorkel safari. Aside from the beautiful reefs, clear waters, and abundant marine life, there are a number of protected areas to explore at varying depths. Both boutique island resorts we’ll be staying at are also well equipped to host us as we advance our freediving. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1566154.jpg) Join freediving expert Emma Farrell and her assistant for an immersive workshop designed to enhance your snorkeling skills through a combination of talks, masterclasses, and in-water practical sessions. With a focus on wellness, you can take part in morning Breathing Optimization sessions and evening Yoga Nidra, both of which will enrich your underwater experiences. You’ll progress at your own pace and within your comfort zone, with safety, relaxation, and enjoyment always at the forefront. The workshop begins at the award-winning Siladen Resort, located just north of Sulawesi. This venue offers everything needed for training, including a pool for static breath-hold practice and a sea-view yoga shala that doubles as a classroom and relaxation space. From Siladen, you’ll have easy access to the stunning reefs and training sites within Bunaken National Park. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/07/P1007871.jpg)Our second stop will be Coral Eye, the newly renovated sister resort of Siladen Resort, located on Bangka Island. With your newly honed freediving abilities, you’ll be able to dive down and swim among the fish, exploring the stunning reefs from a whole new perspective. Like Siladen, Coral Eye also offers a pool for additional training sessions and relaxation, along with ample space for yoga and Breathing Optimization sessions. --- **Trip Leader and Instructor** ![Instructor, Belize freediving Workshop | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Emma-Farrel.jpg) **Emma Farrell** is one of the world’s leading freediving instructors and the author of [*Emma Farrell is one of the world’s leading freediving instructors and the author of One Breath: A Reflection on Freediving*](https://gofreediving.co.uk/product/one-breath) Teaching since 2003, she is a multi-agency freediving instructor trainer, yoga teacher, and has led thousands of programs through RAID, SSI, and AIDA. As a founding member of the AIDA Education Commission and the International Director of Freediving for RAID, Emma has written and developed courses taught worldwide, along with her own specialty freediving and breathing programs. Over the last decade, Emma’s work with gold medal–winning Olympic and Paralympic athletes has shaped her unique Breathing Optimization program. This approach has helped people across the globe improve their breathing, lung function, and overall health—regardless of age, physical condition, or ability. An accomplished educator and public speaker, Emma has appeared widely on television and in print, and has also served as a consultant on short and feature films as well as documentaries. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Chris P. March 2025 ‘The real star was the free diving workshop held by Asha and Emma. Asha is an excellent, pleasant host and kept everything well organized. Emma is a real star. She’s a gifted free diving and Nidra yoga instructor. I learned far more than I expected. I can’t wait to free dive again’ --- ### Marine Life Guide ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/08/reef-fish-turtle-shark-critter-rays-snakes.png) --- This tour is partnered with No Trash Triangle Initiative. [Find out how we support NTTI via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![NTTI logo featuring a coral-colored circular emblem with a branching coral and the text 'NTTI' and 'No-Trash Triangle Initiative' in coral letters | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/10/NTTI_Logo_second_print_coral_trans-300x135.png) **Product categories:** Freediving-Photo Workshop, Indonesia **Tour Categories:** Free Dive & Photo Workshops, Indonesia --- ### [Solomon Islands Liveaboard | Bilikiki Liveaboard](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/solomon-islands-bilikiki-liveaboard/) **Published:** May 28, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Snorkel the Solomon Islands by liveaboard, one of the final frontiers of snorkeling. **Content:** Come snorkel the Solomon Islands on the unique liveaboard that is known as Bilikiki. This small island nation has it all from a snorkeler’s perspective. These lush islands are largely undeveloped, with endless shallow reefs that host a cornucopia of marine life, and vibrant coastal communities. ![Snorkeler swimming over a vibrant coral reef under clear blue water. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1073487.jpg) The Solomon Islands consist of six major islands and over 900 smaller islands. They’re located on the southeastern corner of the Coral Triangle, just northeast of Australia. The Solomon Islands sit within the global epicenter of biodiversity, the Coral Triangle. Thus, you can expect to encounter an overwhelming amount of marine life. This includes beautiful little reef fish that dance like glitter suspended in the water column, larger schooling fish like snappers, jacks, and parrot fish, and awe-inspiring pelagic species like manta rays, reef sharks, and barracuda. Hopefully, we’ll also find some weird benthic creatures like scorpion fish, signal gobies, and maybe even a seahorse! Given the Solomons’ unique geographic location, straddling the border of Southeast Asia and the South Pacific islands, we’ll see a mixture of both of these underwater worlds. We’ll see reefs similar to those found around North Sulawesi, where hard and soft corals form a carpet of color and texture. Also, we’ll see that many of the reefs share topographic features with Fiji- crevices illuminated by piercing beams of light. There are even a couple of wrecks for us to explore, including some from WWII. ![Half-submerged rusted shipwreck tilted in calm turquoise water with mangrove roots visible underwater and a blue sky above. | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/05/P1074273.jpg) The tourism industry in the Solomon Islands is still quite undeveloped. There are very few snorkeling/diving operators in the country. The Bilikiki is the premier operator in the area, having run both diving and snorkeling safaris for over 25 years. We have chartered the Bilikiki for the trip and will have exclusive use of the liveaboard. *\*Please note that this particular itinerary covers a lot of territories. It thus involves several overnight crossings between regions where we will be in the open sea. We’ll be more exposed to the elements, particularly swell. If you have any reservations about what it’s like onboard a liveaboard, please [get in touch](https://snorkelventure.com/contact-us/) with us and or read this [blog](https://snorkelventure.com/2023/02/16/everything-you-need-to-know-about-liveaboards/) about what you can expect for a liveaboard itinerary such as this.* --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Inga A. May 2026 ‘I had a wonderful time on the Solomon Islands tour. Alex was fantastic and it was amazing to see how seamless everything was between him and the Bilikiki guides. They worked so well together. For me, a real highlight of the trip and equally valuable as the snorkeling, were the village visits, contact with the people who live in the Solomon Islands and the focus on history on WW2 day. It added a huge cultural layer that I was hoping for but didn’t expect’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) --- This tour is partnered with the Manta Trust. [Find out how we support the Manta Trust via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** Liveaboard, Solomon Islands **Tour Categories:** Liveaboard Safari, Solomon Islands --- ### [Mexico Sardine Run](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/mexico-sardine-run/) **Published:** September 21, 2022 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Snorkeling with striped marlins, California sea lions, dorado, and other predators that feed on Mexico's annual sardine run **Content:** Baja California’s Magdalena Bay is home to some of the most incredible animals in the ocean. The warm waters and upwelling bring in huge amounts of baitfish that in turn are hunted by striped marlin, California sea lions, dolphins, whales, and sometimes even sharks. While the main focus of the trip is bait balls of sardines and mackerel and the animals predating on them, we can also encounter many other migrating species, such as Humpback whales, schooling mobula rays, and possibly other surprise guests! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/P1066778.jpg) We have partnered with Latitude Encounters for this tour, and by using this experienced team of marine biologists, captains, and open ocean experts who specialize in finding pelagic species like the striped marlins, our chances of getting in the middle of the action are at their best. While hunting, the marlin work together to corral the sardines up to the surface and into tight bait balls. The marlins then take turns darting towards the bait balls, using their long bills to hit, stun, and sometimes spear the fish before pivoting back to consume their prey. While they are hunting, the marlin flash their bright stripes as a form of communication, creating a magical display of animal behaviour that we are lucky to witness. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/P1067138.jpg) As we continue to explore the area, we will be searching for not only marlin hunting on bait balls but also several varieties of dolphin species, sea lions, sharks, and whales. Once we find the bait balls, things really get interesting. The trip can be fast-paced, and we will be jumping in and out of the water throughout the day. The bait balls can move fast, but our goal is to find the more stable, static bait balls. We will be freediving and snorkeling amongst these incredible animals, watching an amazing, not-to-be-missed display of predatory behavior! **Is this trip right for me?** This is a very unique type of trip in that a good portion of our time (up to 8 hours a day) is spent in the open ocean looking for the marlins. Whales, sea lions, sharks, and dolphins are also frequently spotted in the area. If we come across them, we could very well have the opportunity to get in the water with them. Even though the team from Latitude Encounters has incredible knowledge of the marine life here, there can be times when we won’t see anything for anywhere from thirty minutes to a couple of hours, as these pelagic species can be hard to find at times. We also need to say that, as these pelagic species can move relatively quickly, there may be a lot of in and out of the boat via the ladder as we reposition the boat to get back in the water. This safari is one of our more physically demanding tours, and a reasonable level of physical strength is required for this particular tour. Also please note that there are no toilets on the boats. The mornings and evenings are expected to be very cold. For more information about what you can expect from this tour, please get in touch with us. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Melissa. March 2023 ‘I had a terrific time on the Mexico Pelagic Safari snorkel trip led by Marcus in March 2023. It was truly a unique experience, despite not being able to see whale sharks due to government regulation. For example, being nearby as a mother humpback taught her baby how to breach, watching curious gray whales spyhop and then swim directly under our boat, be in the water near a Mako shark, and snorkel amongst cavorting sea lions’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/marlins-bait-balls-sea-lions-sharks-whales-mobula-rays-dolphins.png) --- This tour is partnered with the Manta Trust. [Find out how we support the Manta Trust via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** Mexico **Tour Categories:** Mexico, Pacific --- ### [French Polynesia by Liveaboard | Aqua Tiki III](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/french-polynesia-snorkeling-safari/) **Published:** September 14, 2020 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Big fish safari style snorkeling in remote and visually stunning French Polynesia. **Content:** This epic liveaboard snorkeling safari will be spent exploring one of the world’s most coveted tropical locations – French Polynesia, in the stunning South Pacific. This iconic archipelago is made up of one-hundred and eighteen islands, sixty-seven of which are uninhabited, with Tahiti being the most populated. Given that there are so many different islands and atolls to choose from, we will focus our time in the water on the Tuamotus Archipelago which we think is the best for a snorkeling-specific tour such as this. It is made up of eighty islands and atolls and forms the largest chain of islands in the world. Needless to say, this provides the perfect setting for some incredible coral reefs and shark snorkeling. ![aerial view of Fakarava | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DJI_0042-scaled.jpg) Like most of the reefs in French Polynesia, the Tuamotos are characterized by fringing hard coral reefs which gently slope away from the island, providing us with a seemingly endless shallow reef to explore. We can expect excellent visibility ranging from 25 – 35 meters (70 – 100 ft) on average and since French Polynesia has created one of the largest shark sanctuaries in the world, as a result, the area has become famous for its healthy shark population. As we cruise over the stunning reefs you can expect to see lots of black and white tip reef sharks as well as grey reef sharks, along with plenty of rays such as Eagle, Blue Spotted, and Manta. Outside of these larger pelagic creatures, there are lots of beautiful reef fish that school over the sloping reefs. ![aerial view of sharks on the surface | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/DJI_0070-scaled.jpg) This tour involves drift snorkeling, sometimes in relatively fast-moving water (always with boat support), and is **only suitable for those with confidence and experience in similar drift snorkeling conditions.** --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Roger. March 2024 ‘French Polynesia was our fourth trip with Snorkel Venture which is testament to how good their trips are. This one didn’t disappoint; excellent organisation and communication from their office staff, fabulous boat and crew (Daisy’s puddings were amazing) Marcus our guide was so helpful nothing was too much trouble for him and we came away knowing how to use the GoPro’ --- **Marine Life Guide**![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) *Please note that this video features the Aqua Tiki II, which is slightly smaller than the Aqua Tiki III.* --- This tour is partnered with the Manta Trust. [Find out how we support the Manta Trust via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** French Polynesia **Tour Categories:** French Polynesia --- ### [Egypt Snorkeling and Solar Eclipse Tour](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/egypt-eclipse-snorkel-tour/) **Published:** May 9, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Egyptian history, a solar eclipse, amazing coral reefs, and a resort-based snorkel safari through the southern Red Sea. **Content:** This special tour has been planned so that we will be in the path of totality for the 2027 full solar eclipse! Come snorkel Egypt with us and enjoy it’s crystal-clear blue waters. There, the thriving shallow coral reefs host a unique array marine life large and small. Egypt is also a country with some of the oldest and most influential civilizations. The ancient history is etched into the red cliffs and dunes that border the mighty Nile River. Take these two elements, the land and sea, throw in a total solar eclipse, and you’re left with the experience of a lifetime. Join us as we explore the rich history of Egypt with a Nile Riverboat Cruise, where the path of the eclipse passes directly over us, followed by a week of snorkeling the Red Sea from a resort. ![Snorkel Egypt | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/P1533441-1.jpg) #### Nile River Cruise This is our most unique and specialized Egypt Snorkeling safari. We start by exploring some of Egypt’s unique historical sites, like Luxor and the Valley of the Kings, which we’ll visit via the comforts of a privately chartered Nile River cruise boat. This tour has also been timed to coincide with the full solar eclipse on the 2nd of August. We’ll have unobstructed views from in the middle of the Nile River. #### Resort Based Snorkeling Thereafter, we spend a week in one of the area’s best snorkeling resorts, Marsa Shagra. Here we can enjoy the incredible [house reef](https://snorkelventure.com/2024/01/16/featured-house-reef-marsa-shagra-egypt/) which stretches over 2KMs! We will also enjoy some boat snorkeling at sites further off shore, with good chances of seeing dolphins. We’ll spend an evening in the desert, star gazing after meeting a Bedouin community. History, astronomy, and marine biology- this trip has it all! --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Lyn B. May 2024 ‘This was my second trip with Snorkel Venture. Highlights for me were snorkelling with a pod of spinner dolphins, seeing turtles & moray eels and the beautiful extensive house reef at Marsa Alam’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![Egypt marine life guide | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/reef-fish-turtle-shark-dugong-dolphin.png) --- This tour is partnered with the Manta Trust. [Find out how we support the Manta Trust via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** Egypt **Tour Categories:** Egypt --- ### [West Komodo & Alor Snorkel Safari](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/west-komodo-alor-snorkel-safari/) **Published:** February 13, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** A unique tour featuring reefs seldom seen by other snorkelers. **Content:** One of our most popular snorkel safaris, this itinerary offers the opportunity to enjoy two of Indonesia’s premier snorkel destinations. We will snorkel over pristine reefs devoid of tourist boats, have great chances of manta ray encounters and enjoy beautiful scenery above and below the surface. We will be based at two of our favorite resorts in the region-Kalimaya and Alami Alor. ![Coral reef, snorkel safari on a group snorkeling tour in Alor | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/P1300714.jpg) We’ll start our tour in the northeast coast of Sumbawa, at Kalimaya Resort where we’ll have exclusive access to four different regions for some truly amazing and unique snorkeling. Our days will be spent exploring the range of reefs and marine environments in West Komodo. These include Sangeang Volcano, Gili Banta, and Eastern Sumbawa. As these areas are seldom visited by people, we can expect pristine hard and soft corals in abundance. Also, busy fish life and good chances of turtles, larger rays, and reef sharks cruising around. Around Sangeang Volcano, which is still semi-active, on this snorkel safari you’ll have the opportunity to swim over its bubbling black sands and hyper-rich reefs which are unlike any of the other reefs in the region as a result of its nutrient-dense volcanic substrate. Our second stop will be in Alor, where we’ll be staying with Alami Alor, one of our most popular snorkeling resorts. Alami also has a wonderful house reef, boasting mandarin fish, and several other interesting critters, right on off the jetty. We charter the entire resort so we will have exclusive access to their house reef. We will also embark on snorkeling excursions by boat, twice a day. When you snorkel Alor, you will no doubt be blown away by the sheer beauty and density of the marine life and reefscapes just beneath the surface. There is also the possibility of coming across a couple of the ocean’s most iconic inhabitants, like pods of dolphins and melon head whales, giant ocean sunfish, and even blue whales as we move from site to site. The snorkel safari is accompanied by a Snorkel Venture tour leader. Come snorkel Indonesia with us. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Cheryl. May 2026 ‘We enjoyed the variety of sea life between West Komodo and Alor. Both sites were well run and had excellent staff that made sure we were well cared for. Our guides Emma and Crystal were both exceptional. They worked together so well and we were impressed by both of their knowledge’ --- **Marine Life Guide**![marine life guide Raja ampat | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/Reef-fish-turtles-rays-sharks-critters.png) --- This tour is partnered with Classroom Of Hope. [Find out how we support Classroom Of Hope via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Overland Safari **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Island Hopping Safari, Komodo --- ### [Wakatobi Resort Snorkel Tour | 12 Nights](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/12-day-wakatobi-snorkeling-safari/) **Published:** September 23, 2024 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Snorkeling Wakatobi with rich and vibrant coral reefs in clear blue waters of remote Indonesia. **Content:** Come and snorkel Wakatobi with us and enjoy some of the healthiest reefs on Earth. We’ll indulge in all the luxurious amenities, pristine reefs, and abundant marine life that Wakatobi Resort is famous for. Wakatobi National Park, a UNESCO Marine Biosphere Reserve, was named by combining the first letters of the names of the four main islands in the chain, **Wa**ngi-wangi, **Ka**ledupa, **To**mia, and **Bi**onko. ![snorkeling wakatobi | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/P1699259.jpg) The reserve is situated at the geographical center of the Coral Triangle, the most marine bio-diverse environment in the world. in fact, Wakatobi, in particular, is recognized as having the highest number of coral and fish species found anywhere on the planet. As we snorkel Wakatobi, we can expect to find everything from cuttlefish and turtles to nudibranchs and octopus. The sloping reefs start in the very shallow water and drop off below us. Consequently, we can spot critters close up, enjoy the juvenile fish that dwell in the shallows and watch the schools of fish next to the drop off. Additionally, the resort has a truly amazing house reef easily accessed from the resort’s pier. Fortunately, we can snorkel the house reef at our leisure and enjoy the combination of sea grass, sandy bottom and healthy reef on our doorstep. The combination of substrate attracts all sorts of marine life. Swimming eels and rays are often spotted while enjoying sundowners at the jetty bar. This snorkel safari is based at Wakatobi Resort- with its luxurious bungalows set on the beachfront. We will snorkel Wakatobi from large wooden boats, with local guides pointing out interesting marine creatures. The resort is accessed by charter flights from Bali so we expect to see very few other people in the water as we snorkel Wakatobi. The islands in the Wakatobi National Park have been preserved from large-scale tourism. The area is only accessed by a private charter flight from Bali. To find out more about Wakatobi snorkeling, check out our [Wakatobi Snorkeling Guide by clicking HERE](https://snorkelventure.com/2021/08/06/wakatobi-snorkeling-guide/). The tour group will be escorted by a Snorkel Venture tour leader. --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Anne M. AUG 2025 ‘Yet another fabulous trip with Snorkel Venture (SV), this time to Wakatobi Resort, Indonesia. We do a lot of travel and SV is by far the best tour operator in terms of a seamless, hassle free and quality service. Starting with the their informative website and enticing range of world wide top snorkelling destinations’ --- **Marine Life Guide**![marine life guide philippines | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/reef-fish-turtle-critter-snake.png) --- This tour is partnered with Classroom Of Hope. [Find out how we support Classroom Of Hope via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) **Product categories:** Indonesia **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, One Stop Resort --- ### [Ultimate Komodo Snorkel Liveaboard | Coralia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/ultimate-komodo-snorkel-liveaboard-coralia/) **Published:** April 1, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Snorkel safari to the remote reefs of Komodo and beyond by liveaboard **Content:** Join us as we snorkel Komodo and the surrounding islands on this beautiful and award-winning liveaboard, Coralia. This unique snorkel liveaboard departs from Labuan Bajo, Western Flores, and spends the following ten nights exploring the Komodo National Park and beyond. The Coralia liveaboard will be our floating home for the duration of this tour. With it, we’ll enjoy all the luxuries and amenities of a comfortable resort while also indulging in the exhilarating experiences of exploring the reefs and islands that have made Komodo one of the best snorkeling destinations in the world! ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/DJI_0321.jpg) On this snorkel liveaboard, we’ll be covering a lot of territory and visiting locations not otherwise accessible from a resort. We plan to spend a lot of time snorkeling the stunning reefs around central, north, and south Komodo before heading further north towards the very tip of Komodo Island. Thereafter, we will leave the park boundaries for islands like Gili Banta and Sangeang Volcano. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/P1300866-scaled.jpg) On this tour, you can expect to see just about every type of anemone fish in Indonesia, cuttlefish, octopus, various species of crab and shrimp, nudibranchs, manta rays, several species of turtles, scorpion fish in all shapes, sizes and colors, sea snakes, reef sharks and so much more! --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Pam J. Feb 2026. ‘ The Coralia snorkel guides, as well as our fabulous tour Leader, Alex, were great, spotting things for us we would often have missed. Coralia itself is a superb boat run by fabulous hosts, Beat and Desi and their Indonesian crew were so happy and helpful. The cabins are super spacious – I shared a twin with a stranger and we had a ton of room, not feeling on top of each other at all’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/reef-fish-turtle-shark-mantas-snakes.png) --- This tour is partnered with Thrive Conservation. [Find out how we support Thrive Conservation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Thrive-conservation-300x114.jpg) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Komodo --- ### [Best of Komodo Snorkel Liveaboard | Naga Biru](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/best-of-komodo-snorkel-safari-with-naga-biru-liveaboard/) **Published:** January 19, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Explore the remote reefs of Komodo and beyond by liveaboard. **Content:** Join us to snorkel Komodo and the surrounding islands on this beautiful and brand new liveaboard, Naga Biru. This unique snorkel liveaboard starts in Labuan Bajo, Western Flores, and spends the following eleven nights exploring Komodo National Park and beyond. We have selected a fantastic time to snorkel Komodo as many of the other liveaboards have moved up to Raja Ampat, leaving the park for us to enjoy in peace. ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Naga-Biru__0079-scaled.jpg) Naga Biru will be our floating home for the duration of this tour. With it, we’ll enjoy all the luxuries and amenities of a comfortable resort while also indulging in the exhilarating experiences of exploring seldom-visited reefs and islands. On this snorkel liveaboard, we’ll be covering a lot of territory and visiting locations not otherwise accessible from a resort. We plan to spend a lot of time snorkeling the stunning reefs around central Komodo before heading further north towards the very tip of Komodo Island. Thereafter, we will leave the park boundaries for islands like Gili Banta and Sangeang Volcano. ![Snorkel Komodo on the Naga Biru Livebaoard | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/01/P1055023.jpg) The infrequency of snorkelers and divers visiting this isolated region has kept its reefs in absolutely stunning condition! On this tour, you can expect to see just about every type of anemone fish in Indonesia, cuttlefish, octopus, various species of crab and shrimp, nudibranchs, manta rays, several species of turtles, scorpion fish in all shapes, sizes and colors, sea snakes, reef sharks and so much more! --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Mary R. Sep 2025 ‘Marcus, the crew of Naga Biru and Snorkel Venture made our Komodo trip magical! Everyone was so knowledgeable and accommodating! We can’t wait to do it all again, and again, and again!’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/reef-fish-turtle-shark-mantas-snakes.png) --- This tour is partnered with Thrive Conservation. [Find out how we support Thrive Conservation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Thrive-conservation-300x114.jpg) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Komodo, Liveaboard Safari --- ### [Alor & Komodo Snorkel Liveaboard | Coralia](https://snorkelventure.com/tours/alor-and-komodo-snorkel-liveaboard-coralia/) **Published:** April 4, 2025 **Author:** Alex Lindbloom **Excerpt:** Snorkel safari to the remote reefs of Alor and Komodo by luxury liveaboard. **Content:** Join us as we sail around some of Eastern Indonesia’s most iconic destinations and snorkel Alor and Komodo from this award-winning snorkel liveaboard, Coralia. The Coralia liveaboard will be our floating home for the duration of this tour. With it, we’ll enjoy all the luxuries and amenities of a comfortable resort while also indulging in the exhilarating experiences of exploring the reefs and islands that have made Alor, Komodo, and everything in between some of the best snorkeling destinations in the world! ![snorkel Alor from Coralia liveaboard | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/DJI_0321.jpg) On this snorkel liveaboard, we’ll be covering a lot of territory and visiting locations not otherwise accessible from a resort. We’ll start the tour with a few snorkels around the island of Kawula before arriving into the Alor archipelago the following day. After several days of snorkeling the magical reefs of Alor, we’ll then make our way west towards Komodo with stops along the way. We will snorkel Komodo National Park in the final days of the tour. ![snorkel Alor from Coralia liveaboard | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/04/P1299256.jpg) On this tour, you can expect to see just about every type of anemone fish in Indonesia, cuttlefish, octopus, various species of crab and shrimp, nudibranchs, manta rays, frog fish, several species of turtles, seahorses, scorpion fish in all shapes, sizes and colors, sea snakes, reef sharks and even mola mola if you’re lucky! --- [Trustpilot](https://uk.trustpilot.com/review/www.snorkelventure.com) Margo B. March 2025 ‘Sabine our guide was so knowledgeable and energetic! She made everyone feel comfortable and special. She went above and beyond in everything she did’ --- **Marine Life Guide** ![marine life guide Alor and Komodo | Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/09/coral-fish-turtle-mola-shark-critter-manta-1.png) --- This tour is partnered with Thrive Conservation. [Find out how we support Thrive Conservation via this tour here.](https://snorkelventure.com/snorkel-for-good-every-trip-program/) ![| Snorkel Venture](https://snorkelventure.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Thrive-conservation-300x114.jpg) **Product categories:** Indonesia, Liveaboard **Tour Categories:** Indonesia, Komodo, Liveaboard Safari --- ## Categories ### [Uncategorised](https://snorkelventure.com/category/uncategorised/) --- ### [Tips & Advice](https://snorkelventure.com/category/snorkeling-tips/) --- ### [Photography](https://snorkelventure.com/category/photography/) --- ### [Destinations](https://snorkelventure.com/category/destinations/) --- ### [Marine Life](https://snorkelventure.com/category/marine-life/) --- ### [Conservation](https://snorkelventure.com/category/conservation/) --- ### [On Tour](https://snorkelventure.com/category/on-tour/) --- ### [Equipment](https://snorkelventure.com/category/equipment/) --- ### [Snorkeling 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