Location Description Belize is home to some of the Caribbean's best snorkeling sites, without a doubt. With the second largest barrier reef system in the world starting just 1,000 feet of the country's shoreline and extending for over 190 miles—the entire length of Belize, it should come as no surprise. Belize City is the main port for the country, despite not being the capital city. This coastal city hosts the country's primary airport, Philip SW Goldson International Airport, (BZE), and is also the jumping-off point for all snorkeling excursions to the great Belize Barrier Reef. While there are many smaller atolls, cays, and hundreds of islands within this massive reef system, there are three large atolls that sit just east of the main barrier reef where nearly all the snorkeling will take place. Liveaboard snorkeling safaris will primarily concentrate their time around the Glovers and Turneffe Atoll, while resort snorkeling safaris will spend their time around Turneffe Atoll and Lighthouse Reef. Lighthouse reef is where the famous Blue Hole is located. Snorkeling in Belize Snorkeling in Belize, regardless of the Atoll you are on, is the quintessential Caribbean snorkeling experience. Clear warm water with patches of pristine white sand intricately framing and wrapping around an undulating network of shelves, plateaus, slopes, and valleys plastered with brightly colored corals, fans, and sponges. Not to mention plenty of critters and schools of fish to gawk at as you float above this surreal landscape. The coral is absolutely exquisite in Belize, and at low tide parts of it will even breach the surface. Some reefs will be largely made up of expansive fields of hard coral colonies where the famous brain corals and elk-horn coral can be seen all over the place. Other reefs will be dominated by sea fans and sponges. The
Location Description Belize is home to some of the Caribbean’s best snorkeling sites, without a doubt. With the second largest barrier reef system in the world starting just 1,000 feet of the country’s shoreline and extending for over 190 miles—the entire length of Belize, it should come as no surprise. Belize City is the main
Muck snorkeling is a really unique type of snorkeling. For many people it can be an acquired taste, like certain types of aged cheese. And just like someone who's developed a pallet for Limburger cheese, for example, what once used to be a casual affair with muck snorkeling or something you would dismiss altogether, can quickly turn into an obsession. So what is muck snorkeling, well it's basically the same as your tropical reef snorkeling, only muck snorkeling typically takes place in areas where there is more sand—usually black—and where an assortment of sponges and different types of algae grow. Reason being, this unique environment is one of the best types of environments—most likely due to the nutrient-rich volcanic sand—for finding some of the most unique and interesting creatures. Frogfish, nudibranchs, a vast assortment of crabs and shrimps, moray eels, stargazers, and some of the most ornate and interesting types of cephalopods (octopus, cuttlefish, and squids) can only be found in 'mucky' environments. If you've never been muck snorkeling before, it can seem a bit strange when you first jump in, simply because it's not your classical reef scene full of color. Floating over a black sandy substrate is not what people typically have in mind when they imagine a tropical snorkeling holiday. However, as I said, once you get in the zone and start finding these cool critters all by yourself, that dark sand punctuated by unusual colonies of sponges will quickly become a beautiful thing for you.
Muck snorkeling is a really unique type of snorkeling. For many people it can be an acquired taste, like certain types of aged cheese. And just like someone who’s developed a pallet for Limburger cheese, for example, what once used to be a casual affair with muck snorkeling or something you would dismiss altogether, can
Location Description North Sulawesi is home to Bunaken National Park, Gangga Island, and Lembeh—which are some of Indonesia's most beautiful and tranquil snorkeling destinations. Manado is the capital city of North Sulawesi Regency and is where all the flights will arrive and depart from. From Mando Airport it's just a quick car ride to the harbor followed by another quick and comfortable boat ride to one of Bunaken National Park's resorts. There are many great resorts in the Bunaken area, but our go-to resort for our snorkeling safaris is Siladen Resort & Spa, which is located on Siladen Island—the smallest of the islands in Bunaken. The Bunaken area is comprised of five tropical islands, one of which is a stunning dormant volcano called Manadotua. The islands are all quite close together making travel times between the different island's snorkeling sites quick and easy. Lembeh is a beautiful island just off the northeastern tip of Sulawesi. It is easily accessed by boat from Bunaken with good weather, or by car should the sea conditions not be ideal for a boat transfer. This area is quite volcanic with several semi-dormant volcanoes clearly visible on the horizon. Every now and then, if you are lucky, you may see one of them give a little smokey 'burp'. Like Bunaken, there are a number of fantastic resort options, but our go-to resort is Lembeh Resort as they are not only one of the oldest and most reputable resorts in the area, but also very well set up to accommodate snorkelers. Gangga Island is a small tropical island fringed by white a white sand beach and sits just off the northern tip of Sulawesi. Gangga Island does have a very beautiful boutique resort that is well equipped for snorkelers, however, for the snorkeling safaris we typically
Location Description North Sulawesi is home to Bunaken National Park, Gangga Island, and Lembeh—which are some of Indonesia’s most beautiful and tranquil snorkeling destinations. Manado is the capital city of North Sulawesi Regency and is where all the flights will arrive and depart from. From Mando Airport it’s just a quick car ride to the
Though we have several snorkeling photography workshops in several different destinations which include Belize, North Sulawesi, and the Cayman Islands, all will focus (pun intended) on a very similar set of underwater photography principles and techniques, regardless of the destination or who your photo pro is. Here's a quick breakdown of what you can expect from one of our photography workshops. Focus of the Workshops Understanding your Camera Every camera is a little different, and understanding the nuances of your camera can be one of the biggest things to improving the quality of your images, particularly where colors are concerned. Composition A lot of time will be spent throughout the trip discussing the importance of composition. Choosing what to include in a single image is really one of the most important fundamentals of photography. Light Much like composition, we will also spend a great deal of time discussing light and how it changes underwater and the different ways in which we, as photographers, can react to it with your cameras, either by using the natural light or by using an artificial light source such as a flash or a photo/video light. Marine Life Behavior & Subject Selection Understanding how marine life is going to behave around snorkelers will not only help you get the photo you want, but also play a big role in what subjects you select. Some species of fish for example, just don't make great subjects, even though they be the most beautiful fish you've ever seen, simply because they either dart straight into the reef at the first hint of a human. Wide Angle & Macro Though we will of course cover both wide-angle and macro shooting styles in theory and during our snorkeling sessions, the bulk of the time will be spent covering the principles
Though we have several snorkeling photography workshops in several different destinations which include Belize, North Sulawesi, and the Cayman Islands, all will focus (pun intended) on a very similar set of underwater photography principles and techniques, regardless of the destination or who your photo pro is. Here’s a quick breakdown of what you can expect
During the first week of May 2021 we were finally able to run the very first snorkel safari since the pandemic shut down the world. Needless to say, we were ecstatic to finally be able to fun a tour. Not only did we have some amazing underwater surprises like eagle rays and hunting octopus, but we also had a very cool surprise for all the guests which came in the form of SeaLife underwater cameras. Our guide and video/photo pro, Alex, is also a field editor for Dive Photo Guide, and through that relationship we were able to arrange for several different newly released models of SeaLife underwater cameras to be brought onboard for all the guests to use as they please. This was such a nice surprise for everyone, as it not only allowed those who have never used a camera underwater to get a feel for underwater shooting, but it also allowed those who already have a camera to try out a different brand— with two different models to choose from. The two models of SeaLife camera we were given were the SeaLife Micro 3.0, which is more along the lines of a traditional compact camera—only it's completely sealed so no need to worry about messing around with o-rings and camera housings. The other camera was the SeaLife Reefmaster RM-4K, which is basically SeaLife's version of a GoPro. Both cameras shoot both video and photo, with the ability to capture images in RAW format as well as 4K video. They are designed to be as simple as possible and have some pretty cool, easy-to-use settings, that allowed guests to capture images with amazing natural colors. If you would like any help choosing your next cameras, or are curious about a camera you may already have and want to
During the first week of May 2021 we were finally able to run the very first snorkel safari since the pandemic shut down the world. Needless to say, we were ecstatic to finally be able to fun a tour. Not only did we have some amazing underwater surprises like eagle rays and hunting octopus, but
