This year, we’re scheduling three Florida Dive & Drive trips to choose from.

• Jan. 14 – 17
• Feb. 18 – 27
• March 26 – April 2

Check out our picture gallery from a previous Florida Springs training adventure.

We’ll have instructors, staff members and support teams available in Florida, and remember these trips can be customized for your own training or you can just dive with friends. Each trip will include opportunities to complete the GUE Fundamentals program, PADI Advanced Open Water Diver course, specialty training and manatee dives all in the caves and caverns of Florida’s famous springs.

We’re also planning a few trips to the east coast of Florida for some boat diving.

The pricing for this trip is just like any other Drive & Dive adventure. Plan out in advance with us when you will be in Florida, when you’ll be diving and what your goals will be for your trip. We’ll customize the adventure and ensure your trip goes smoothly once you get to Florida.

Contact us soon to discuss options and book your diving days with our team. See you in Florida!

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Trip Advisor contributors rate the Catalonia Riviera as a 4 Star property with more than 900 guests giving the property with 5 stars. We’ll have more information soon, but the price of this trip is $1,550 per person, double occupancy plus airfare. Single occupancy ($1,750) is available.

Of course, we’re diving with Dive Aventuras, based out of the Omni Beach Resort in the Puerto Aventuras Marina. They do an excellent job coordinating all of our boat and cenote diving needs. Dive Aventuras is a PADI 5-Star Gold Palm Resort, and our friends there are experts on diving the area.

Check out the full photo gallery from our successful October 2008 trip to Catalonia Riviera Maya. We’ve included a couple of images from the resort and our previous trip below.

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The 2011 trip is sold out. If you’re interested in the 2012 trip, ensure you are registered to get our email updates as it will be announced in December 2011.

This custom trip designed by Scuba Shack and Peter ensures you’ll experience the best of Nassau including diving on the southwest side of New Providence (Nassau) with great walls that start at 35 feet and drop – in many locations vertically – to more than 6,000 feet. Again this year will be limited to between 18 and 22 divers which allows Stuart Cove’s operation to provide us their best boat and private bus transportation to and from the dive center each day.

If you’re interested in this trip, ensure you contact Scuba Shack ASAP so we can tell you more and you can ensure your spot is on hold. Call us at (860) 563-0119.

To say you’ll experience the hottest dive and dining spots on the island is an understatement. Peter’s preparation each year includes a personal trip to the island months before the Memorial Day Weekend trip to meet with the dive operator and the staff at Orange Hill to ensure everything is just right. How many dive trip leaders do you know who meets with restaurant owners and managers before the trip to schedule entertainment and ensure your satisfaction? Peter does!

Located in the central Bahamas, the southwest side of Nassau features excellent diving opportunities for every level of diver. With walls starting at 35 to 45 feet and dropping vertically one mile, an advanced diver may cruise the wall at 80 to 100 feet – while novice divers complete open water certification dives at the top of the wall near a recently sunk artificial reef. To fully enjoy this multi-level diving experience, dive computers are required.

Diving along the Tongue of the Ocean is a special experience and we’re certain that you will enjoy the diving diversity offered.

Take advantage of the afternoon Shark Dive. You’ll swim with Caribbean Reef Sharks and watch them feed while experiencing an adrenalin filled rush! A photographer and videographer will be in the water and you can purchase prints at Fin Photo™, Stuart Cove’s full service photo and video center, or purchase them online after your trip from home.

Orange Hill Beach Inn is a family run hotel with 32 rooms. Only 75 steps from the beach, Orange Hill is very comfortable for divers and has been recently renovated. The hotel is conveniently located five minutes from the international airport, 15 minutes from Cable Beach, and 12 minutes from the dive center.

Join group leader Peter Katz, PADI instructor, on this fun adventure back to Nassau. For information, contact Scuba Shack at (860) 563-0119.

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Includes:
Top-notch wall diving, wreck diving and beautiful reefs. Great for the novice and advanced diver. The Scuba-Safari to Exuma is included in the price.

Five nights at Orange Hill Beach Inn, all hotel taxes and gratuities, full breakfast each morning. Four days of diving with Stuart Cove’s Dive South Ocean, two boat dives each morning. Tanks, weight, belt and complementary transportation to and from the dive center.

Special Deal:
Nitrox divers can pre-purchase all the Enriched Air Nitrox they need for the entire trip for only $75 when paid and ordered through Scuba Shack in advance.

Package does not include airfare, airport transfers, lunch, dinner, drinks or optional diving.

More airlines then ever are offering service into Nassau’s international airport (NAS) and jet service is available that can put you on the island by 11 a.m.

The trip cost and details are available below, and are subject to change. Keep in mind that this trip has limited space, so book early and don’t miss out!

Join us as we dive on sites like Mary’s Place and Calvin’s Crack. CoCoView Resort provides our guests the best opportunity to log serious bottom time with two boat trips daily and shore diving that’s as varied and as easy as the boat diving.

The wreck of the 160’ long Prince Albert is sitting in 70’ of water literally a few finkicks from the shore and adjacent to 2 beautiful walls; CoCoView Wall and Newman’s Wall.  Snorkelling for non-divers is included for all boat trips.

All rooms are air conditioned with hammocks on private balconies and are either over-water or ocean-view.

The week-long trip is priced at $1,499 per person, double occupancy, plus air.

Coco View is the home of 24 hour a day diving where the front yard really is a wreck! This will be Nick’s fifth trip to Coco View and he’s available to answer any of your questions.

The seven night package includes everything listed below, plus you’ll enjoy a welcome cocktail, air conditioned accommodations, a couple of opportunities for secluded private diving and optional spa services, tours and day trips.

Click on an image below to see slightly larger images.

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We will fly to Providentiales, Turks and Caicos on Sunday, Aug. 28 and enjoy a full week in the fun and clear blue waters off the walls of West Caicos, Northwest Point and French Cay. The clean comfortable boats of Dive Provo along with the friendly professional staff will make for a memorable diving adventure.

The trip – led by Scuba Shack instructor Jeff Cinciripino – will be open to a maximum of 16 divers.

The trip includes:

• Seven nights at the Comfort Suites Hotel
• Six days of two tank morning dives with Dive Provo
• Continental Breakfast each morning at Comfort Suites
• $50 per room beverage credit

Come and dive the extensive coral reef system with abundant fish life, excellent visibility and a superior level of dive service from Dive Provo. Give us a call if you have additional questions or to sign up!

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Bonaire is all about shore diving. If you are an absolute beginner or a highly advanced diver, you’ll feel right at home on Bonaire in the Netherland Antillies. Scuba Shack’s next trip to the island just north of Venezuela is scheduled for Oct. 2011, and you’re invited.

Plaza Resort Bonaire is only minutes from the international airport and truly is a tropical paradise with tropical plants, coconut palms and a white-sand beach right on the property.

The two bedroom non-smoking villas – each with two full baths – feature air conditioning, kitchen, dining area, color TV and Italian tiled floors. Plenty of room (1,400 square feet-plus) is available for four adults to spread out in comfort.

Remember, since Bonaire is all about the great shore diving, each villa includes a rental truck that you can use to explore the island and go diving. Pick up your tanks (nitrox is included for the full week) at Toucan Diving, a PADI Five Star Dive Center, located right on the property and hit the road!

For additional details, or to make your reservations today, call Scuba Shack at (860) 563-0119.

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Join Scuba Shack instructor Jeff Cinciripino on this trip to another dive destination; Providenciales, Turks & Caicos. This trip will follow the same itinerary as the Nassau Memorial Day Trip. We will arrive in Turks & Caicos on Wednesday and enjoy four days of two-tank diving Thursday through Sunday with Dive Provo.

An optional one tank afternoon dive may be booked while on the island (something about island time and boat schedules – relax man). Nitrox is also available for an additional fee.

Come and dive the extensive coral reef system with abundant fish life, excellent visibility and a superior level of dive service from Dive Provo. Click on any image to enlarge.

Update (Nov. 2): This trip is now sold out.

Scuba Club Cozumel is located on the waterfront one mile south of the downtown ferry dock, an attractive multi-level building of Spanish-Colonial architecture blends in with the waterfront. Built in 1976 as Cozumel’s first dedicated diver’s resort, Scuba Club Cozumel is still a very intimate place where Cozumel aficionados find convenience and good value.

Scuba Club is designed and built — by divers for divers — to provide all services in one convenient place. The resort is private, safe and secluded from the crowds you’ll find downtown, but is still close enough to walk to town. The courtyard area is rich with tropical plants adorned with local stone carvings and exotic flowers. The freshwater swimming pool is located next to the restaurant.

There are only 61 rooms. Each has individual character with a feel of Mexican heritage. All rooms have a private terrace, AC, ceiling fans, hair dryers, alarm clocks, and a small refrigerator. Finished in tile and stucco, they are ready for wet divers and have drying racks for dive suits on each terrace.

Scuba-Cozumel is the in-house dive operation for Scuba Club Cozumel resort. This PADI 5-Star facility and full service dive center is located inside the hotel premises and includes an air filling station consisting of four compressors and a four-stage filtering system, a full line of rental gear and basic repairs shop.

A fleet of seven customized diesel boats are available to safely transport divers to the dive sites. The boats are different sizes and can accommodate from 10 to 20 divers. Equipped with dive platforms and sturdy ladders, marine radios, oxygen and first aid trained crews, they will be ready for boarding every morning at the Club’s comfortable pier, right after breakfast. Diving guests are normally assigned to the same boat, crew and underwater guide for the length of their stay.

Due to the prevailing currents found in Cozumel, all boat dives are drift dives. Divemasters will lead every group of divers. The pace is generally very relaxed. When the currents are running stronger its easiest to go with the flow and let the current carry you over the reefs and through the passes. Naturally some dives are more advanced than others and your guide will help to evaluate your diving comfort level so they may suggest dive sites best suited to your skill level.

Dive sites are between a 10 minute and 50 minute boat ride from the resort. The newest site in Cozumel is the wreck of the Felipe Xicotencatl located very close to the resort on nearby Tormentos Reef. Trips are made daily (minimum 4 divers) at 3:00 in the afternoon.

About Cozumel
Cozumel is located at the northern fringes of the Mesoamerican Reef, the 2nd largest reef in the world at early 600 miles. The reef is a hotbed of marine diversity and the home to some 500 species of fish and 60 species of coral. The Island of Cozumel lies at the Eastern tip of the Yucatán Peninsula. This Mexican Caribbean jewel is renowned as one of the best dive destinations in the world. It offers stunning, towering coral formations, warm and clear turquoise-blue waters, and an amazing variety of tropical marine life. Friendly locals with a rich cultural heritage, fantastic weather, delicious food, and miles of sandy beach, make Cozumel a divers’ paradise. The limestone plateau that forms the base of the island is 34 miles long (north to south) and 11 miles wide (east to west) and, despite the boom in tourist and residential development in the past few years, continues to have vast expanses of untouched jungle and shoreline.

History
“Cuzamil”, Island of Swallows was inhabited by the Mayans since 300 AD. It was the spiritual center for the Goddess of Love and Fertility, Ixchel. It was also a thriving trade center. The Spanish Conquistadores arrived in the early 16th Century, followed by notorious pirates such as Jean Lafitte and Henry Morgan who made it their base in the 17th Century. In 1961, Jacques-Yves Cousteau broadcast the wonders of Cozumel’s magnificent reefs to the world, paving the way for today’s thriving Dive Community.

Diving
Cozumel’s protected Marine Park (declared a national park in 1996) harbors impressive walls of coral, huge canyons and pinnacles, thrilling swim-thru’s, and an amazing variety of sea life. Year round 120 ft. + visibility, warm, calm, turquoise-blue waters and gentle currents make Cozumel diving a truly memorable experience! We would be delighted to share it with you.

Text and photos courtesy Scuba Club Cozumel. Click an image to see a larger size.

During July, warm-water tropical fish are abundant in the area. Water temps average 78 degrees this time of year with visibility ranging from 80 to 100 feet.

On this great Drive and Dive trip. we’ll be diving with Olympus Dive Center, a great team of professionals very familiar with diving in the Outer Banks and equipped with the finest boats in the area, including a 65 foot and a 45 foot aluminum hull dive boats.

The trip departs Rocky Hill for North Carolina on July 19 and we’re diving on July 20, 21 and 22. You’re welcome to stay in the Outer Banks for additional days, but the group drives back to Connecticut on July 23.

We have pre-booked accommodations at Hampton Inn, located about two miles from the dive center. Our rooms have a water room and the inn includes a continental breakfast each morning.

Limited space is available, so we suggest you reserve your slot today!

Information on Little Cayman … (all text and photos courtesy Little Cayman Beach Resort).

Little Cayman is the smallest and least developed of the three Cayman Islands, located 87 miles northeast of Grand Cayman, five miles west of Cayman Brac, 480 miles from Miami and 90 miles south of Havana.

First discovered by Christopher Columbus in 1503 and rarely visited (except for the occasional pirate) until recent times, Little Cayman is now a favourite destination of modern-day explorers, photographers, naturalists and, of course, divers. The moment you arrive, you’ll understand why.

The island itself – just 10 miles long and 1 mile wide – is blessed with 22 miles of spectacular coastline and, just offshore, incredible coral reefs teeming with over 150 kinds of coral and more than 500 species of fish.

Bloody Bay Wall, one of the most pristine underwater sites in the world, is part of a unique ocean reef system surrounding Little Cayman. Rated as the best diving in the Caribbean by National Geographic photographer David Doubilet and underwater cinematographer Stan Waterman, Bloody Bay Wall’s natural beauty has been protected for future generations with its designation as a Marine Park.

Welcome to Little Cayman Island and Little Cayman Beach Resort, the world’s most incredible diving and the finest Caribbean scuba diving resort.

About the diving …

From Phillipe Cousteau to David Doubliet, just about every diver has stated that Little Cayman is one of the world’s premier dive destinations – with pristine reefs, excellent visibility and incredible diving.

2008 Scuba Diving Magazine Reader’s Choice Awards

• #3 Top Dive Destination
• #2 Top Marine Life
• #2 Healthiest Marine Environment
• #4 Top Macro Life
• #1 Top Wall Diving
• #2 Top Underwater Photography
• #4 Most Popular Dive Resort

The Cayman Islands have strict Marine Conservation Laws and many of our 57 dive sites are within protected Marine Park Zones, including the legendary Bloody Bay Wall – Little Cayman’s most famous dive attraction.

Here, coral canyons and sand chutes lead you through into the pristine deep blue waters of the outer reef before plunging to 6000ft (1800m). These exhilarating walls are covered with brightly hued sponges, corals and sea fans.