Hotspots for sustainable diving
Sustainability and scuba diving can be easily combined, as Bettina Winert, experienced diver and blogger, explained in our blog article on sustainable diving.
Now that you have decided to try the beautiful world of coral diving in a more sustainable way, we put together a list of four destinations where you can scuba dive in spectacular, world-renowned spots, experience the diverse coral and marine life and also stay at a high-end environmental-friendly resort.
Zeavola – Thailand
The Koh Phi Phi Island cluster in the Andaman Seas, approximately two hours from Phuket and Krabi, is part of the Koh Phi Phi National Marine Park. They stand out through beautiful white sandy beaches, stunning coral reefs and lush vegetation. For over twenty years Koh Phi Phi has attracted scuba divers from all over the world. The dive grounds are famous for their variety of marine life including sharks and turtles, rare macro species, colorful undersea flowers and spectacular coral reefs. Scuba divers can enjoy the beauty of Koh Phi Phi throughout the year.
The Zeavola Resort is Koh Phi Phi’s leading five Star PADI dive resort. It is located on the biggest of the six islands and offers an authentic Thailand experience, luxurious accommodations and breathtaking diving experiences. Zeavola was accredited as a Green Fin resort by the Phuket Marine Biological Centre and has committed to conservation and environmental education.
The resort launched a new reef watch and regeneration initiative Project ’Coral Freedom’. All guests are invited to attend a seminar on the dangers of coral bleaching and divers get the chance to bring their ’coral karma’ back into balance by volunteering to help reef replanting and regeneration while diving some of Asia’s most spectacular spots.
Misool Eco Resort – Indonesia
Raja Ampat is one of four main islands surrounding the island of New Guinea. The marine life diversity in West Papua is considerably greater than all other areas in Indonesia, Philippines and Papua New Guinea. It is simply the crème de la crème of scuba diving! Over 1,500 fish, 75% of the world’s known coral and almost 700 mollusk species. On your dive you will find varied marine life, including a menagerie of colorful fish, different reef sharks, rare seahorses and even fluorescent hard corals.
The Misool Eco Resort offers seventeen accommodations designed for comfort, privacy and sustainability. They offer multiple dives – to the House Reef as well as over 60 neighboring dive spots – during the day as well as a dusk or night dive. Since no noise or light pollution can distract from the natural beauty you may be lucky to see the dazzling Manadarin Fish, who makes its appearance just before sunset. After spending the day experiencing the diversity of marine and coral life you relax with a traditional massage or beauty treatment and savor an organic meal at the beach restaurant.
Maldives
The Maldives are recognized as one of the best destination in the world for diving and snorkeling and the North Male Atoll is renowned for its crystal clear water. Also known as North Kaafu, North Male diving is characterized by reefs, caves, current-swept channels and drop-offs. It is also a great area to see large pelagic fish, reef sharks and mantas. A shipping route through one of the atoll channels has left a few wrecks to enjoy wreck diving with colorful and flourishing artificial reefs.
Since the Maldives are renowned for their diversity of coral reefs, marine life and diving grounds we present you with two amazing resorts to visit on your scuba diving adventure to the Maldives: Coco Bodu Hithi on the Kaafu Atoll and Gili Lankanfushi on Lankanfushi Island.
Coco Bodu Hithi – Maldives
Coco Bodu Hithi is a romantic retreat, designed for privacy and luxury, located on an incredible tear-shaped island. The resort provides passionate travelers with exclusive, sophisticated, but most of all warm hospitality and local sustainability. The diving (and snorkeling) tours – to over 30 different dive spots – are guided by a resident marine biologist to learn more about the protection of the environment. She will also take you on a journey through surrounding nature and demonstrate how it can be protected.
Gili Lankanfushi – Maldives
Gili Lankanfushi with a keen approach regarding nature is a place of relaxation and positive energy. The eco luxury resort strives to protect the environment with its SEAS – Social & Environmental Awareness and Sustainability – program. Your time underwater is accompanied by a marine biologist and will leave you with an unforgettable learning experience during your eco tour. After a beautiful dive at Manta Point you can unwind at the Meera Spa or at one of the crystal lagoons.
