These weird and wonderful creatures are always a treat and cool to see. Real crowd pleasers. Probably the closest thing we have to aliens on earth. With the ability to change colours, Shape, and texture makes them fascinating to watch. Living predominantly on the reefs, we are lucky to find them on most of our tours. The most common species we see are the Octopus, Cuttlefish, and squids. Cephalopods can be characterised by their arms and tentacles, incredible camouflage and impressive level of intelligence. Octopuses or octopi, squid and cuttlefish are the most well-known members of the Cephalopoda class of animals. They have all evolved from a common, hard-shelled ancestor (more similar to a nautilus). The word “cephalopod” comes from Greeks and means “head foot,” which perfectly describes animals that have eyes just above their many limbs. Octopus There are around 300 species of octopus and they are found to be in every ocean. known for their high intelligence and their amazing ability to blend into their surroundings. They are some of the most fascinating creatures to observe. The octopus is equipped with three hearts: one that pumps blood through the body (including the 8 arms), and two that pump blood through the gills. It is an interesting fact to know that the octopus does not have tentacles. They are in fact arms. Octopus are the only marine animals, apart from the Cetacean family (Whales & Dolphins), that demonstrate primitive problem-solving and pattern recognition skills. But whatever kind of intelligence they possess, it's different from the human brain, probably closer to a cat. The skin is covered by three types of specialised skin cells, these can quickly change their colour, allowing them to easily blend in with its surroundings. While it is very intelligent they can also be very inquisitive.
These weird and wonderful creatures are always a treat and cool to see. Real crowd pleasers. Probably the closest thing we have to aliens on earth. With the ability to change colours, Shape, and texture makes them fascinating to watch. Living predominantly on the reefs, we are lucky to find them on most of our
In terms of sea conditions, there is very little difference between the snorkeling trips we would recommend for beginners and the snorkeling trips we would recommend for more advanced snorkelers. Regardless of if we are snorkeling in the Caribbean where the currents are mild to none, or Indonesia's Alor where the currents can rip like a river, the areas where we snorkel are essentially the same. Yes, in very specific sites there could be some current, but it's never the main current, we brief you fully before it, and we always drift with it. Any site we are taking you to, on any of our snorkeling safaris around the world can easily and safely be snorkeled by someone who's never snorkeled before. The biggest reason why the following list of snorkel safaris have received the “Advanced” rating has more to do with overall trip logistics than anything else. These trips are longer, might require a bit more domestic travel, and a few have slightly more basic accommodation as a result of their remoteness. While these tours are amazing, and we want everyone to join them, we just want to make sure that you don't bite off a bit more than you can chew, so to speak. Basically, the hardest part of these specific snorkeling tours are the flights. Alor & Komodo Safari | 14 Nights This is not a particularly difficult snorkeling trip, it's actually our most popular snorkel safari by far. We run anywhere from six to ten of these each year and have run these tours with everyone from advanced freediving folks to beginners without any issues whatsoever. The big reason why I say it's advanced is that it requires quite a bit of flying at uncomfortable hours. The snorkeling is as good as it gets in both
In terms of sea conditions, there is very little difference between the snorkeling trips we would recommend for beginners and the snorkeling trips we would recommend for more advanced snorkelers. Regardless of if we are snorkeling in the Caribbean where the currents are mild to none, or Indonesia’s Alor where the currents can rip like
What's the difference between Misool and Raja Ampat? Short answer, nothing. Though it often sounds like—when people or websites talk about Misool—they are talking about two different locations, when in reality Misool is just one of the regions of Raja Ampat. Raja Ampat is made up of four large islands—one of which is Misool—and hundreds-and-hundreds of much smaller islands. I think some of the confusion comes from the fact that Misool is just much further away from the other areas, so much so that it looks and feels like it's a completely different destination. If you were going to join a snorkeling safari with a liveaboard you will most likely spend about half the trip exploring and snorkeling around the islands of Misool, then sail north—about 8-12 hours or so—to explore some of the other areas of Raja Ampat, like the Fam Islands or the Dampier Strait. If you were to join a resort based snorkeling safari to Misool, you would take Misool Resort's speedboat from the main port—Sorong—down to Misool and spend the entirety of the snorkeling safari exploring the Misool area from the comfort of this stunning resort, which also happens to be the only resort in Misool. So there you have it, mystery solved, Misool is actually just one area of Raja Ampat!
What’s the difference between Misool and Raja Ampat? Short answer, nothing. Though it often sounds like—when people or websites talk about Misool—they are talking about two different locations, when in reality Misool is just one of the regions of Raja Ampat. Raja Ampat is made up of four large islands—one of which is Misool—and hundreds-and-hundreds
GoPro cameras have become probably the most 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 on are waterproof to certain depths without a housing. That being said, it's wise to use a housing for added 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 offer 4K footage and a solid 12 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. 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 which are easy to scroll though so you can find the exact moment you are looking for, rather than scrubbing through hours of dizzying footage. 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
GoPro cameras have become probably the most 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 on are waterproof to certain depths without a housing. That being said, it’s wise to use a housing for added security.
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 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 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 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
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.
