Rich Reardon - Original Diver

Richard Reardon

Original Travel Expert

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Day Trips to Dive Apo Island

Apo Island is often cited as the jewel in the Philippines' diving crown. Thanks largely to its community-led protected marine sanctuary, established almost forty years ago, this volcanic island is surrounded by some of the healthiest reefs in the Philippines, boasting over 400 coral species…

Day Trips to Dive the Offshore Sites in the Azores

If you've been dreaming of diving with manta rays and whale sharks but are less enthused by long flights to megafauna hotspots like Fiji, Bali or the Maldives, then cast your eyes to the offshore sites in the Azores. This chain of Portuguese islands in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean…

Top Five Destinations for Cave Diving

For many, cave diving may appear as dark and impenetrable as the philosophical writings of Friedrich Nietzsche. But one of the German philosopher's more famous quotes - 'And if you gaze long into an abyss, the abyss gazes also into thee' - reveals one of many reasons why divers enjoy the…

Top Five Destinations to Get Your Divemaster

If you want to turn your passion into a profession, the Divemaster certification represents the first rung on the diving professional ladder. The course, which lasts from three weeks to six months, qualifies you to work as a dive guide and assist instructors. With unlimited access to local…

Top Five Destinations to Get Your Advanced Certification

The Advanced Open Water Diver certification gives divers more freedom on their dive holidays. Being certified to dive deeper opens up a whole world of new dive sites to explore across the planet and can allow you to enjoy underwater experiences that were previously off-limits. Aside from the…

Day Trips to Dive Nusa Penida

The narrow Badung Strait separates Bali's south-east coastline from a cluster of three islands: Nusa Ceningan, Nusa Lembongan and Nusa Penida. Between them, the three islands are home to some of Bali's most exhilarating dive sites. While the water can be cooler than Bali's northern shore and…

Top Ten Bumphead Wrasse Facts

There's no mistaking the hulking silhouette of a large bumphead wrasse bumbling in from the blue. This slow-moving and inquisitive fish, with its intricate facial markings and iridescent blue and green flanks, is a welcome sight on many dive sites. Known by many different names, this…

Top Ten Sawfish Facts

Ever seen a chainsaw strapped to a pancake? When it comes to the weird and the wonderful, few creatures can compete with the bizarre-looking sawfish. Their flattened noses - or rostrums - are lined with teeth, resembling a chainsaw, they're flat(ish) and can reach a whopping seven metres in…

Top Ten Bait Ball Facts

The disco balls of the sea, bait balls (or baitballs), are densely packed groups of small fish formed either voluntarily or as a means of survival. South Africa's annual Sardine Run - often featured in Attenborough-narrated nature documentaries - is perhaps the planet's most famous bait…

Top Ten Seaweed Facts

Seaweed is found throughout the world's coastal regions, but what exactly is it? The name is misleading as it's not a 'weed,' but a prolific form of sea vegetation that is vital to life. Collectively, seaweed supplies a large proportion of the world's oxygen and plays a vital role in…

Top Ten Mantis Shrimp Facts

Often spotted scurrying across the ocean floor or peering out from their carefully constructed burrows, alien-like mantis shrimp are always a joy to see. These intriguing, carnivorous crustaceans come in a wide range of sizes and colours, and although some live in temperate waters, most…

Top Ten Dugong and Manatee Facts

It's all about the fingernails[l1] . Don't worry, we're not talking about getting a pre-dive manicure, we're talking about how to differentiate a dugong from a manatee. While both are commonly referred to as 'sea cows,' dugongs and manatees are different species, and if you happen across one…

Top Ten Mako Shark Facts

The somewhat elusive mako shark is one of the ocean's top predators. These speed merchants have evolved to hunt some of the fastest fish in our oceans, live throughout the world's tropical and temperate oceans and have a very impressive family tree. Spending much of their time in the open…

Top Ten Jellyfish Facts

Just as a seahorse is not a horse, a jellyfish is not a fish. These misunderstood creatures play an important role in the aquatic ecosystem, and while there are a few species that can inflict a painful sting, the vast majority harmlessly float by on the ocean's currents. As one of the oldest…

Top Ten Whitetip Reef Shark Facts

For many divers, their first glimpse of a shark will be a whitetip reef shark. Not to be mistaken for oceanic whitetips, whitetip reef sharks can often be seen resting on the seabed during the day and offer little, if any, threat to humans. As one of the most common sharks found on dive…

Top Ten Clownfish Facts

For DiCaprio, it was Titanic. For Scarlett Johansson, it was Lost in Translation. Since 2003, when Pixar cast a clownfish in the lead role of one of its blockbuster animated films, dive guides and instructors the world over have been inundated with requests to 'find Nemo.' Luckily, these…

Best Diving In Egypt 

The Red Sea Riviera's coast is dotted with familiar place names to European divers: busy and bustling Sharm-El-Sheikh, the slower-paced Dahab, and the more remote Marsa Alam in the south, all of which offer superb Red Sea diving. But if you're looking for the best diving in Egypt, the…

Best Diving In French Polynesia

While the thought of an 18-hour journey to visit a part of France may sound odd, especially to those based in next-door neighbour England, French Polynesia is a far cry from northern Europe. The 121 tropical islands and atolls spread across the South Pacific are an overseas collectivity of…

Best Diving in Fiji

For those that like their dive sites the same way that Joseph liked his coats - amazing and in technicolour - the stunning south Pacific archipelago of Fiji has all that you desire and much, much more. The reefs in Fiji are bathed in soft corals of every shade, and its waters are inhabited…

Best Diving In Belize

The Belize Barrier Reef forms the southern part of the Mesoamerican Barrier Reef System, the second-largest coral reef system in the world, and includes a number of idyllic, small islands, collectively known as the Pelican Cays. The barrier reef follows the 240 miles of Belizean coastline,…

Best Diving In Costa Rica

The country's name, which means 'rich coast' in Spanish, was (by some accounts) first applied by Christopher Columbus, who sailed to the eastern shores of Costa Rica during his final voyage in 1502. There will be little argument from any diver who has had the fortune of diving below the…

Best Diving in Portugal

What if we told you that you could dive alongside mako sharks and manta rays within European waters? And if we told you that those waters were Portuguese, would you believe us? The Azores is a Portuguese archipelago composed of nine volcanic islands in the North Atlantic Ocean, a little…

The Best Diving in the South Pacific

The more southerly reaches of the vast Pacific Ocean may seem a million miles away, but they are home to some of the world's most luxurious resorts and an array of stunning marine life. Fiji - the soft coral capital of the world - and French Polynesia - the hard coral capital of the world -…

Best Diving in the World

There's no finer way of starting a 'discussion' on a dive boat than proclaiming one destination or another to be the home of the 'best diving in the world.' Not to be the ones who shy away from controversial topics, we're going to try to tackle this hot topic in a very general way. Each of…