By Mark Heighes. Photos by Tommy Schultz.
Many of our trips to date have been operated mainly as dive trips with snorkeling on the side. The diving has often taken priority, and snorkelers were taken to the most suitable spots in the vicinity of our preferred dive sites. More recently though we have been getting groups of guests who just want to snorkel. Last year on a Raja Ampat trip we had one tender totally dedicated to a family of very keen snorkelers. We had the freedom to explore and found some new fantastic locations. I also found it quite exciting to go looking for new areas specifically for snorkeling.
So we are turning it around for the snorkelers and will be offering a few trips per year, in different parts of Indonesia, specifically geared to snorkeling, perhaps with diving on the side. Perhaps also offering an introduction to diving onboard for snorkelers who would like to progress to diving should there be interest to do so. But mainly just working on awesome snorkeling experiences, like we just did in Komodo on our last trip (see Alex’s report).
The group of snorkelers we had in Raja Ampat last year saw just as much as the divers and in some cases more. All the big stuff like Sharks, Turtles, Mantas, schools of Jacks and Barracuda as well as the smaller critters such as Cuttlefish, Crocodile fish, Shrimp fish, etc. We even did some night snorkeling which was great fun as well.
Right now we can pick either one (or even both) of 2 Raja Ampat cruises in early 2021 for “snorkeling only”. That would be 2021 January 30 to February 11, and/or 2021 February 13 to 25. So we are putting this out there to all of our followers who are snorkelers and may have friends that just like snorkeling, or who would just like to be introduced to the amazing marine environment Indonesia has to offer. Please send us an email and let’s see how much interest we get then we can go to work and schedule some more “snorkeling only” trips.
Looking forward to hear from you!
Mark Heighes.
