You don鈥檛 need a passport for a beach escape that feels downright tropical. And with , more people are looking to access paradise without currency exchanges.

Enter: Michigan.

I get it. You鈥檙e skeptical. But that just means you鈥檝e never stood on the blinding-white sands of Northern Michigan鈥檚 west coast, staring out at topaz waves. As a scuba diving travel writer who鈥檚 logged plenty of time in tropical locales and spent 26 of my 30 years in the Great Lakes State鈥擨鈥檓 here to tell you: Michigan can absolutely hold its own.

We鈥檝e got sugar-soft beaches, teal bays you can sail, and freshwater so clear it hurts to look at. No sharks, no salt, no passport. Just miles of dune hikes with island-caliber views, paddleboarding in turquoise bays, and the kind of geology that turns Midwestern lakes into Caribbean lookalikes.

This is your no-passport tropical dupe that鈥檚 hiding in plain sight.

Sleeping Bear Dunes

stretches 35 miles along Lake Michigan in Northern Michigan, with over 71,000 acres of dunes, forests, inland lakes, and historic sites鈥攊ncluding the Manitou Islands, old farmsteads, lifesaving stations, and an 1871 lighthouse. At its heart: some of the tallest freshwater dunes on Earth, earning it the title of the 鈥淢ost Beautiful Place in America鈥� from Good Morning America in 2011.

Fortunately for me, my parents own a vacation condo in this overlooked part of the National Parks system. , a resort with over a mile of Lake Michigan shoreline, is known as America鈥檚 Freshwater Resort. Amenities include shoreline tennis courts and Spa Amira, which has panoramic lake views. No surprise, you鈥檒l find me at the Homestead multiple times a year.

You have no shortage of options for incredible sugar-sand beaches in Sleeping Bear. For swimming, sunbathing, or tubing into Lake Michigan, is a local favorite with calm river shallows on one side and dramatic surf on the other. offers soft sands and Caribbean-clear water鈥攊deal for sunset bonfires. near Empire is shallow, warm, and perfect for kids, with a quick hop over the dune to the big lake. delivers wide views of the Manitou Islands, while is a peaceful spot with historic charm. For a quieter afternoon, has soft sand, easy parking, and a creek that鈥檚 fun to wade.

Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore is also a hiker鈥檚 paradise with about 100 miles of trails weaving through dunes, forests, and coastline. No visit is complete without attempting itself, a rite of passage for Michigan visitors and children alike. This is the steep wall of sand near Glen Arbor that kids (and fit adults) love to charge up. It鈥檚 roughly 110 feet tall to the first ridge, but feels higher because every step up slides you half a step back. Many families make a morning of it鈥攔acing up before rolling or running back down.

You can also keep walking from the top on the a 3.5-mile roundtrip from the Dune Climb, down to Lake Michigan鈥檚 shore best done barefoot or in flip-flops. It鈥檚 strenuous 鈥� you鈥檙e hiking up and down steep sand hills with zero shade. (Bring more water than you think you鈥檒l need.) But the payoff is worth it when you reach the 473-foot Mother Bear Dune at the end towering over the endless expanse of Lake Michigan. It鈥檚 the same view that inspired the Ojibwe legend of the Sleeping Bear that gave the park its name: A mother bear and her cubs jumped into the water to escape a forest fire, but the cubs tragically slipped beneath the waves when nearing shore. The two cubs became the Manitou Islands, and the protective mother became the solitary dune overlooking them in the lake.

Sprinting down the Mother Bear dune into the crisp waters of Lake Michigan at her feet after the long hike is one of the most refreshing experiences of all. But be sure you can make it back up if you sprint down. Rescue fees for stranded climbers who can鈥檛 make it back up themselves can run $3,000. And pro tip if you plan on hanging out at the beach: Be careful as you keep an eye on the time. At the shore, your phone might start picking up Chicago cell towers and fall back an hour from Eastern to Central.

Hiking the Mother Bear Dune is a favorite childhood memory of mine. My younger brother and I tackled it when I was about 10 years old. After sprinting down at a breakneck pace, it took 45 minutes to climb back up鈥攖he sand sends you back three steps for every two you take, I swear. But that night, after our victorious crest, my parents let me order from the adult menu for the first time ever. (I got the chicken nachos.)

For an easy hike with stunning views, hit up Empire Bluff Trail, a simple out-and-back that leads to a high bluff overlooking Lake Michigan and the expansive Sleeping Bear Bay. This spot is particularly special to me: it鈥檚 where my husband proposed, dropping to one knee with endless blue water and the Manitou Islands on the horizon. Other great paths in the area include (2.6 miles), (9 looping miles in total), and (2.8 miles). Sleeping Bear Heritage Trail (4.25 miles) is the park鈥檚 only . It connects the Dune Climb with several campgrounds, as well as the town of Glen Haven and Glen Arbor, making it a great thoroughfare.

Torch Lake

Legitimately nicknamed the 鈥淐aribbean of the North,鈥� 19-mile-long Torch Lake stuns visitors with unreal clarity and color. Michigan鈥檚 longest inland lake reaches 310 feet deep, and owes its tropical hues to glacial history: minimal organic runoff and calcium-rich marl on the lakebed make the water incredibly transparent blue-green. In other words, Torch鈥檚 geology filters the water to an almost unnatural clarity.

I spent many childhood summers boating on Torch since my grandparents lived just a few miles from shore. In the lake鈥檚 southern shallows, a wide sand shelf forms a sandbar that hosts a natural pool-party scene each summer, boaters knee-deep to socialize. By midday on a summer weekend, it鈥檚 a flotilla of pontoon boats and inflatable tubes, music echoing over the turquoise expanse. (Three event promoters were put on a from 2016 to 2020 after a 10,000-person 4th of July party got out of hand.) My family likes to joke that Craig Morgan鈥檚 song 鈥淩edneck Yacht Club鈥� was inspired by a day at the Torch sandbar. The man selling hamburgers every day off the back of his pontoon from a portable grill is one of my core childhood memories.

If you want to toss anchor and the sandbar (or spend the day zooming around) rents tritoons ($520+) and jet skis ($199+) while offers鈥攜ou guessed it鈥攑ontoons, with kneeboards and tubes available for add-on. Kayaking fans can contact for single and tandem rentals ($35+). Anglers can book full and half day trips with to fish for salmon, trout, walleye, porch, and more ($495+). Scuba divers can work with for gear rentals and site selection, with plenty of shipwrecks to choose from. When hunger strikes, boat to near Torch River, where slips await and pints are poured. There鈥檚 nothing like tying your boat to the restaurant鈥檚 dock for lunch鈥攁 classic Up North experience.

Grand Traverse Bay

Grand Traverse Bay is a 32-mile Lake Michigan inlet that cuts in to the east of the Leelanau Peninsula. Ranging between seven to 10 miles wide, it bottoms out at 620 feet. Traverse City, the region鈥檚 largest city, sits along the southern shores.

Every Fourth of July, I find myself on Old Mission Peninsula, which bifurcates Grand Traverse Bay, watching the sunset from the deck of my husband鈥檚 grandparents鈥� waterfront home. The distant hills鈥攕triped in the vineyards of 鈥攇low in the late sun. By day, the bay transforms into an adventure playground for paddling, boating, hiking, and lazy beachgoing, all within view of those spectacular vistas.

For a paddling adventure, you can take a day trip to , a 200-acre uninhabited island park once owned by Henry Ford. It鈥檚 a 15-mile kayak journey from Traverse City or 3 miles from Bowers Harbor. rents single and double kayaks ($30+) and paddleboards ($30+) from Clinch Park on West Bay (they also deliver within a 30-minute radius). If you prefer horsepower, rental companies like make it easy to gear up, offering everything from jet skis ($75/hour) to speedboats ($140/hour).

In Traverse City, and the adjacent offer soft sand and remarkably clear water for swimming. The bay鈥檚 gentle, sand-bottomed shallows are kid-friendly and sparkle a Caribbean hue under the midday sun.

Three-masted schooners听are a distinct way to experience Grand Traverse Bay. Traverse Tall Ship Company operates the Schooner鈥疢anitou鈥擬ichigan鈥檚 114-ft largest schooner. Public 2鈥慼our sails include options like the Evening Sail (~$73), Brunch Cruise (~$88), Ice鈥慍ream Sail (~$61), and Wine鈥慣asting Sail (~$70鈥�85) per person. The operates two schooners: the 77-ft Inland Seas and the 105-ft, three鈥憁asted Alliance, both home-ported in Suttons Bay (a bay within Grand Traverse Bay). Public sails range from $45鈥�$75 per person, with options like the Great Lakes Discovery Sail (3 hours of hands-on science and sailing), Fishes of Lake Michigan, and Steady the Ship! (2-hour eco-sails featuring net pulls, fish handling, and sail-raising). Specialty trips include stargazing sails and fall color cruises, all departing from Suttons Bay.

For lodging, Sutton鈥檚 Bay has a charming choice is the , a 12-room boutique hotel on a sandy stretch just north of downtown that has a complimentary dock for those who boat in.

Big & Little Glen Lakes

Tucked beside Sleeping Bear Dunes, Big Glen Lake and Little Glen Lake are a startlingly blue pair. Stop #2 on the 鈥攁 7.4 mile loop with 12 recommended vistas of Lake Michigan, the Glen Lakes, and the dunes鈥攑resents a postcard view of these interconnected twins framed by verdant hills, their bright blue waters stealing the show.

Little Glen (the smaller eastern part) is especially shallow and warm. On summer afternoons, it feels like a giant natural swimming pool. Big Glen, meanwhile, reaches about 130 feet deep and stays a bit cooler, but its drop-offs create gorgeous color gradients from aqua to deep blue. There鈥檚 nothing like floating in Big Glen鈥檚 clear, teal water with the massive Sleeping Bear dunes looming just beyond.

These lakes are perfect for paddling and boating. You can rent a boat or jetskis from the or . , in Glen Arbor, will deliver SUPs and kayaks to local lakes ($68+), including the Glens. Anchor off the sandy shore of Glen Lake鈥檚 tiny islands for a swim, or paddle a kayak along the forested shoreline. The water is usually bathtub-calm, ideal for stand-up paddleboarding even if you鈥檙e a beginner. For boat or beach snacks, swing by a few minutes away.

So this summer, skip the customs line. Michigan鈥檚 freshwater paradise is ready when you are.

Sure, it鈥檚 not palm trees and coconuts鈥攂ut it is sugar sand, Caribbean hues, and adventure-packed days on the water. You鈥檒l hike dune ridgelines that feel like island peaks, paddle through teal coves that rival the tropics, and end your nights with sunset bonfires or schooner sails. It鈥檚 wild, it鈥檚 beautiful, and it鈥檚 a hell of a lot cheaper than flying south.

________________________________________

Growing up in the Great Lakes state gave听Alexandra Gillespie a lifelong love of being in, on, or anywhere near the water. After cementing her adoration with a scuba certification, she worked as digital editor of Scuba Diving magazine, where travel assignments took her all around the world. Now a freelancer for 国产吃瓜黑料, she continues to cover water and travel. Her work has also appeared in听National Geographic,听Afar,听NPR, and other national outlets.听

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Ocean Ramsey spends more time with sharks than most people spend with their coworkers. For more than 25 years, she鈥檚 been studying, swimming with, and advocating for sharks鈥攃reatures she calls 鈥渨ildlife, not monsters.鈥�

Her high-visibility free dives with great whites have earned her the moniker Shark Whisperer, the title of a new Netflix film from the Academy Award-winning director of My Octopus Teacher, James Reed. Premiering June 30, the provocative documentary makes clear the soft-spoken Hawaiian marine conservationist doesn’t let her critics distract her from her mission: to use her voice and platform for shark conservation, not demonization.

Watch an exclusive clip of Shark Whisperer below.听

Ramsey鈥檚 social media following over 2 million across and features up-close encounters with dozens of different shark species (including 20-foot-long great whites), as well as frequent calls for policy changes to help promote shark protections around the world.

鈥淧eople look first and listen second,鈥� Ramsey tells 国产吃瓜黑料 about using her social media to challenge听our perceptions of sharks. Ramsey’s peaceful shark encounters caught on film go against Hollywood’s demonization of sharks and unwind our cultural frenzy that these creatures are to be feared.

Shark Whisperer doesn’t shy away from the controversy these close interactions also stir. Ramsey gets incredibly close to the animals while freediving, sometimes touching them. While Ramsey says these moments challenge negative perceptions of sharks and raise awareness about their importance in marine ecosystems, some in the scientific community say that type of interaction stresses the animals, alters their natural behavior, and sets a poor example for the public. On the other hand, world-renowned marine biologist Sylvia Earle, “our era’s Jacques Cousteau,” advocates for Ramsey in the film (and in the above video clip), applauding her fearless efforts to change the public perception of sharks.

Outside caught up with Ramsey to talk about the criticism, the dangers of getting too close, and how she hopes Shark Whisperer will shift how we view the ocean’s top predator.

OUTSIDE: How do you hope the encounters you share with the world changes public perception of sharks?

Ocean Ramsey: I’m really hoping that it’ll shift the Hollywood fictitious portrayal of sharks as mindless monsters into the reality that we can coexist. We need to learn to adapt to their behavior. Because the reality is there are over 100 million sharks being killed every year for wasteful things like shark finning for shark and soup, shark fishing, shark culling. And deep sea sharks being killed for the pharmaceutical and souvenir and cosmetic trade.

I hope to inspire people to get involved in marine conservation because we really need more people speaking up for those without a voice. A lot of people don’t go diving; they don’t get to see the amazing underwater world. Maybe they don’t feel a connection. I hope that with this film we can show the reality and the beauty and the importance [of sharks].

Your activism can be polarizing. On one hand, you鈥檝e contributed to passing protective shark regulations. On the other hand, people sometimes get heated when they see your close interactions with sharks. What do you have to say to critics who say your media is more about spectacle than science?

I think it is undeniable by this point that we’ve been able to help pass laws because we’ve been able to bring millions of people to the table. But I understand that there’s always going to be critics. The way that I handle it is staying focused on my mission. Who really deserves my time? The sharks.

I do also try to look for gratitude in moments like that as well. I have noticed in the past that while this isn鈥檛 their goal, [the critics have] actually brought more attention to the subjects, and that can be a really good thing to keep sharks in the news.

You spent six years advocating to make shark fishing illegal in Hawaii, which was ultimately adopted in 2021 and went into effect in 2022. Tell me more about the role you and your platform played in passing that ban.听

Since we have built this online social media presence, we can reach potentially millions of people a day. By utilizing our social media platforms, when we do a call to action during the legislative process, we have a little bit more educated of an audience, and people who are more willing to speak up, lend their voice, send in a听 letter, write to a politician.

And then for people that are on the Island, we put out other calls to action; filming ourselves going down to the capitol and saying , 鈥淧lease come join us. You can do this too.鈥� I know that for some people, it could be nerve-wracking to go and sit in front of a committee and testify again and again and again, as we did year after year after year. And a lot of times for these committee schedules, you get like two days’ notice, and so we had to drop everything and drive across the Island to go into the capitol.

The nice thing was, year after year after year, we fine-tuned our approach, we made more connections and we gained more support. There’s people that come there and they’re not necessarily even caring about sharks鈥� they care about corals and turtles and dolphins. But protecting sharks helps the whole ecosystem. We got those people on board, too.

Let鈥檚 talk about warning signs when you鈥檙e diving with sharks. How do you know when to call it and get out of the water? What are the signs to you that the shark doesn’t want an interaction right now?

It’s called agonistic, territorial body language. If you’ve got two cats, when they come together maybe they don’t like each other and they need to sort out their social hierarchy. They arch their back. When you have two dogs who might be territorial, maybe they smell each other first, then maybe they flatten their ears back, they lower their tails, they may bear their teeth.

Because of domestication, most people are more attuned to cat behavior, dog behavior, bird behavior. But it’s the same thing in the water with sharks and my team, because I train [the team] them to notice this. There are subtle, small behaviors, and you can see the way that they’re interacting with one another, and that’s precursory behavior towards a physical confrontation.

Now this doesn’t mean that we don’t occasionally get a wild card. A wild card is a shark that randomly swims in, from out of your field of vision. Maybe they’re moving from one aggregate site to another. Maybe it’s a highly migratory species. And they might be a very dominant individual, and they might come right up to you. And so with this [shark] approach, I train people on redirection methods and techniques, which doesn’t harm the shark. It’s just a gentle redirection off the side of them.

But most of the time, 99% of the time, the sharks don’t really care that you’re around, if you’re being quiet, if you’re not wearing bright, flashy, colorful things. If you’re looking around and any of them start to swim towards and you acknowledge them, they’re going to treat you a little bit more like a predator.

Again, not trying to encourage anyone to just jump in. Please go under the guidance of a trained professional who are very sensitive to their body language, to their swim patterns.

What policy efforts are most urgent for protecting sharks right now? What can people do?

The EU shark fin ban is currently under the environmental assessment, so stay tuned for when that’s going to be back open to public comment. At that time, it would be great if people could re-engage in that one, because that’s the entire European Union, and Europe is responsible for with Spain being the top exporter to Hong Kong.

And then if people could also potentially try to reach these companies that are still shipping shark fins. The U.S. removed themselves from the global fin trade, but there’s still a lot of companies out there on the global market, including FedEx, that are still shipping shark fins. And there’s a lot of companies who have banned it, and a lot of airlines who have banned it. It’s just that we haven’t gotten all of them on board yet.

And for the U.S., I would say banning shark fishing should be like the next really big one, because states like New York, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida and Texas, are still running shark fishing tournaments and doing recreational shark fishing.

So if anyone reading this is from those states, if you could talk to your legislators and send them a letter letting them know that this is important to you, and to rally your communities. If you’re from those areas, politicians are more likely to listen to you. But we can all help, collaborate and support each other.

This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.

Visit for information about ongoing advocacy campaigns.听

鈥淪hark Whisperer鈥� premieres on June 30, exclusively on Netflix.听

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Fifty years ago, Jaws hit theaters with the force of a tsunami, and proceeded to scare the living daylights out of millions of viewers.听Beach attendance in the months following the film鈥檚 release, and more than a third of viewers reported feeling an increased sense of fear while swimming. The 鈥淛aws Effect鈥� was so powerful during those days that some people even .

Decades later, surprisingly little has changed. In 2015, four decades after Jaws premiered, to swim in the ocean because of sharks, and more than half admitted to experiencing galeophobia, a general fear of sharks.

I see this fear firsthand as a scuba diver. The first question people inevitably ask me is: What would you do if you saw a shark?

I don鈥檛 have to wonder. I鈥檝e encountered hundreds. And they’re beautiful. I watched dozens of hammerheads swirl around me in the Red Sea, and I’ve听drifted through French Polynesia鈥檚 legendary 鈥淲all of Sharks,鈥� where up to gather in a single day. One of the most incredible moments of my life came at a remote dive site off Mexico鈥檚 Baja Peninsula, where I floated peacefully above a river of 100 silky sharks.

I consider myself lucky that I didn鈥檛 see Jaws until my mid-twenties, after many real-life shark encounters. The New York Times calls Spielberg鈥檚 film a听 鈥攂ut it鈥檚 fiction. Sharks don鈥檛 crave human flesh. Most attacks on humans are likely cases of mistaken identity; from below, , which are on sharks鈥� menu. There were only 47 unprovoked shark bites worldwide last year, according to the . Just four of them were fatal. To put that in perspective, around .

And humans pose a much bigger threat to sharks than they pose to us. We kill roughly 鈥�a major problem for us when they are key to maintaining the stability of ocean food chains that feed billions of people around the world.

After decades of fear, a new generation of social media activists hopes to reverse the narrative. They鈥檙e flooding our feeds with peaceful, viral encounters aimed to replace terror with awe and understanding.

But can influencer-driven messaging truly repair decades of damage? Or does it present new, unintended risks for sharks?

How Jaws Scarred (and Inspired) Generations

Jaws didn鈥檛 invent a fear of sharks. By the sixties, occasional scares prompted short-lived panics. After one shark scare near Coney Island, the New York World-Telegram that city police 鈥渢riggered several bursts of machine gun fire, aiming into the water for the benefit of photographers.鈥� Such theatrical responses were typically enough to reassure beachgoers鈥�or a time.

But when Jaws hit screens in 1975, it etched these fears into our collective consciousness. Virtually overnight, the great white shark鈥攁nd by extension all sharks鈥攚ere perceived as ruthless killers prowling the coasts.

鈥淥ne of the great things, in movie terms, about a shark as the villain is that you can’t anthropomorphize it,鈥� Linda DeLibero, a film lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, said in a . 鈥淚t doesn’t seem to have any personality or feelings.鈥�

A great irony of Jaws is how difficult it was for even the filmmakers to even simulate a shark attack.

鈥淭hey had the rather ridiculous notion that for the shark shots, they could just get a real shark and a trainer and have the shark learn some tricks,鈥� said DeLibero. 鈥淭hey quickly realized that that was absolutely ridiculous, and so they built these mechanical sharks鈥� that rarely worked. 鈥淚f you’re paying attention, the shark is invisible until that amazing moment鈥攑robably the biggest shock in the film鈥攚hen Brody is throwing the chum overboard and it pops up out of the water. The shark worked that day, and they weren’t happy with the way it looked, but it didn’t really matter.鈥�

This engineered portrayal had real-world consequences. Shark-fishing tournaments surged in the late seventies, with eager to reenact the heroics of听Jaws’ shark hunter, Captain Quint.

While public fear itself didn’t cause the global decline of shark populations, it severely undermined early conservation efforts. Sympathy for sharks was effectively crushed by their portrayal as relentless monsters. this has made it difficult over the years to get public or political support to regulate shark fishing or reduce accidental catches (bycatch).

鈥淲henever I say 37 percent听of all named species of sharks and their relatives are threatened with extinction, there’s always someone who says, 鈥楪ood. How can we get that to 100%?鈥欌�� says Dr. David Shiffman, a marine conservation scientist at Johns Hopkins and author of .

鈥淭he fact that so many people are absolutely terrified of sharks鈥攚hich many of them trace back to Jaws鈥攎akes it harder for us to care and lobby or and to elicit public support to lobby for conservation. That is a big problem, not only for sharks, but for the oceans as a whole and for humans. Sharks play vital roles in keeping coastal and oceanic ecosystems healthy.鈥�

Even now, public officials invoke the film to justify anti-shark measures. Fictional Amity Island mayor Larry Vaughn, who notoriously kept beaches open despite shark attacks, remains a shorthand for political mismanagement of shark incidents. Nobody wants to follow in his footsteps. In 2023 George Gorman, the Long Island regional director for New York State Parks, explained drone patrols and beach closures after five shark bites in two days by saying 鈥淚 don鈥檛 want to be the mayor of Amity.鈥� And between 2000 and 2014, officials in Western Australia repeatedly ordered controversial shark culls by claiming there was an 鈥渋mminent threat,鈥� of rogue killer sharks.

Jaws also shaped legions of imitators. A found that 96 percent听portrayed sharks as threatening to humans. Finding Dory was the only exception. Some of such media is just absurd fun, like Sharknado and Mega Shark Versus Giant Octopus. But even those films resonate precisely because sharks are ready-made villains. It鈥檚 like putting Nazis in your film: it鈥檚 an instant shorthand for evil.

Then there鈥檚 the Discovery Channel’s annual Shark Week, which Shiffman calls 鈥渁 dumpster fire of lies, pseudoscience, and nonsense.鈥� After analyzing 206 hours of Shark Week programming, his team concluded it primarily reinforces existing misconceptions of sharks as mindless threats, and rarely discusses threats to sharks or how they can be addressed.

A dive operator in the Bahamas once told me, allegedly, that a Shark Week production crew that chartered his vessel filled a faux pig with fish guts to emulate sharks attacking pigs from Big Major Cay, where tourists swim with the famous wild pigs.

Yet for all its harmful impacts, Jaws paradoxically inspired a legion of ocean conservationists. 鈥淭here鈥檚 a generation of marine scientists who became scientists because they saw Jaws and wanted to be Hooper,鈥� says Shiffman referencing the oceanographer that is brought to Amity to help deal with the shark. Indeed, The American Elasmobranch Society (AES) was founded in 1982, just seven years after Jaws premiered.

Sharks Enter Their Influencer Era

Jaws is enduring proof that media has a strong influence on how the public views sharks. Today, shark influencers like and are hoping to use the power of social media for conservation, not demonization.

All over Instagram and TikTok, influencers swim beside tiger sharks, calmly redirect an approaching reef shark, and reach millions of followers. Their graceful footage, often accompanied by educational conservation captions, frequently gets shared across the Internet. These peaceful shark encounters directly contradict the idea that sharks will eat anything on site. This may help unwind our cultural shark frenzy.

鈥淧eople look first and listen second,鈥� says Ramsey, a freediving shark conservationist with a combined audience of over 4 million on and who stars in the upcoming Netflix documentary Shark Whisperer. 鈥淧hotos and videos transcend language barriers鈥hey directly challenge the Jaws archetype, and are reality. Jaws was a fictitious film.鈥�

It鈥檚 also an opportunity to highlight the ways sharks are threatened by humans.

鈥淚 also will share videos where you can see the human impacts on sharks,鈥� says Fragola, a marine biologist and with a audience of 2.2 million. 鈥淚f they have a broken jaw, or there’s a fishing line hanging from them, or they’re entangled in something, that’s all caused by humans鈥eople write comments like 鈥榃ow, I feel really bad for this animal having these human impacts.鈥� And I think having that direct connection is something that’s really important for conservation.鈥�

Of course, influencer content can cross a line: 鈥淎 video of someone riding a shark, of someone hugging a shark, of people flipping sharks over鈥攖here was one guy who used to kiss sharks,鈥� says Shiffman. 鈥淭hat does not prove that sharks are cute, cuddly animals. It shows that if you annoy a wild animal, it’s gonna bite you. And I’m not sure how much that helps anyone or anything.鈥�

Not everyone agrees where that line is. In 2019, Ramsey went viral听for swimming with and touching the fin of a 20-foot pregnant great white. The footage immediately听sparked from marine scientists, who accused her of interfering with the shark鈥檚 critical feeding opportunity.

鈥淚鈥檓 not trying to inspire people to interact鈥� with sharks, insists Ramsey. 鈥淚’m trying to inspire people to get involved in shark and ray conservation.鈥� She encourages people to, for example, pressure FedEx to stop shipping shark fins, purchase beauty products that use the vegan squalane instead of shark-based squalene, eat sustainable seafood to reduce shark bycatch, and advocate for states like New York, South Carolina, Alabama, Florida and Texas to end shark fishing competitions. Ramsey also was heavily involved advocating for Hawaii鈥檚 2022 shark fishing ban and an EU shark fin ban currently under parliamentary review.

If somebody does want to encounter a shark in their natural habitat, they should go with a specialist, not only to be safer, but to maximize the amount of learning, she advises.

While influencers may be giving sharks some much-needed good PR, not all of them are trying to erase the risks of interacting with an apex predator.

鈥淪harks are not mindless eating machines鈥攂ut they鈥檙e also not puppies,鈥� cautions Fragola,听whose show sharks as both risk (coming so close she must redirect them) and victim (a shark with severe jaw damage, likely harmed by fishing). 鈥淚f people only see sharks being peaceful, they think that鈥檚 how they always are. If they only see aggression, they think it鈥檚 always dangerous. Neither is true.鈥�

Come 2075, our perception of sharks will reflect how well today’s storytellers wield their influence.

Alexandra Gillespie dove with reef sharks in Belize on her first assignment as digital editor of Scuba Diving magazine, and she’s jumped at the chance to do so ever since. With about 170 dives under her belt, she is a freelance journalist covering water and travel. Her writing has appeared in National Geographic, NPR, Afar, and U.S. News and World, among other national publications.听

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Netflix鈥檚 new documentary about the 2023 implosion of the submersible Titan reveals a preventable disaster years in the making. Titan: The OceanGate Disaster, premiering on June 11, shows how OceanGate CEO Stockton Rush forced forward a fatally flawed design. Whether it was his commercial interests, or his own hubris, something compelled Rush to ignore safety measures, which ultimately led to the death of five people.

I covered the Titan submersible years prior to its implosion, interviewing Rush multiple times before the disaster, and I also contributed to 国产吃瓜黑料鈥檚 coverage when the sub went missing.听So I watched the film with a careful eye, curious if it would shed new light on the incident.

The film examines efforts Rush put toward silencing his critics. It also reveals how clear it was for years that the sub was never capable of repeatedly making safe trips to the Titanic, and Rush鈥檚 determination to ignore all warnings. Jaw-dropping footage and interviews shows he was willing to risk lives, including his own, in service of making OceanGate the Space X of the sea.

Released nearly two years to the day after Titan went missing, this documentary unveils shocking decisions that led to the ill-fated journey, a disaster that continues to captivate the world years after the fact.

Blatant Disregard for Safety and Hubris Led to Disaster

The documentary reveals how Rush鈥檚 original sin was also a mortal one: Building Titan鈥檚 hull out of carbon fiber to save money. Carbon fiber is essentially long chains of carbon twisted together like a yarn, then coated in glue or resin. It has a great strength-to-weight ratio, meaning the sub was much lighter and smaller than your typical build. That made it cheaper to transport, and affordability was a key part of his business ambitions.

Early in the film, Bonnie Carl, OceanGate’s accountant, reveals that Rush hoped to become a “big-swinging dick” that changed the world, on-par with Jeff Bezos or Elon Musk.

But the Titan’s cheaper hull had a flaw. Carbon fiber can have air pockets, and its fibers can snap when under too much pressure. The Netflix documentary shows Rush and others conducting topside pressure tests in partnership with Boeing on scaled-down models of the submersible. The first model implodes before reaching Titanic-levels of pressure, and the second one buckles even faster.

Still, OceanGate moved forward with a full-size hull. In shocking footage of Titan鈥檚 first deep ocean dive, featured in the documentary, Rush is piloting the sub solo. You can audibly hear the carbon fiber hull popping and snapping.

My jaw dropped as I watched Rush acknowledge the sound (鈥淢an, what the f*ck?鈥�), brush it off (鈥淭hat鈥檒l catch your attention.鈥�), and continue his descent (鈥淎s long as it doesn鈥檛 crack, I鈥檓 okay.鈥�)

鈥淏ecause anybody that’s been in a submersible鈥攁nyone that’s worked with subs鈥攌nows that’s the sound of your death approaching.”–Rob McCallum

Rob McCallum, a submersible expert, had a similar reaction. 鈥淚 was sitting in the theater with Dave Lockridge [at the film鈥檚 premiere], and when that noise was playing, I actually gripped his knee, and I said, 鈥楬oly shit. How did he do that?鈥欌�� McCallum tells me on a phone call. 鈥淏ecause anybody that’s been in a submersible鈥攁nyone that’s worked with subs鈥攌nows that’s the sound of your death approaching.鈥�

This moment encapsulates Rush鈥檚 single-minded fixation with bringing his vision to life 鈥� reality be damned. He repeatedly ignored experts warning of evident issues, from Boeing engineers to McCallum. And he habitually dismissed staff who questioned the operation. Before the open water tests, he fired Lockridge, his director of maritime operations, for documenting potentially dangerous problems with the vessel. And he made it clear to those within OceanGate nobody would get in his way.

鈥淗e said… that if the Coast Guard became a problem he would buy himself a congressman and make it go away,鈥� Matt McCoy, an OceanGate operations technician in 2017, testifies听during the film.

OceanGate’s director of engineering, Tony Nissen says Rush told on the very day he fired Lockridge that 鈥渋t would be nothing for him to spend $50,000 to ruin somebody鈥檚 life.鈥�

鈥淭hat changed my life in that company,鈥� Nissen says in the documentary. 鈥淚t changed how I managed the engineering department. I had to make sure that nobody spoke up. I worked for somebody that was probably a borderline clinical psychopath, but definitely a narcissist.鈥�

Rush continued to test OceanGate鈥檚 popcorn hull with people aboard. It eventually cracked during a dive in the Bahamas. He responded, the film shows, by dismissing several members of the engineering staff, including Nissen. OceanGate then made another carbon fiber hull and shipped it to Nova Scotia for expeditions.

Nissen didn鈥檛 alert anyone that they were deploying a sub design proven to fail. 鈥淚 wasn鈥檛 going to fight him. I wasn鈥檛 going to go to the board, because Stockton stated clearly how he likes to ruin a life,鈥� Nissen tells filmmakers.

The company鈥檚 one nod to the sub鈥檚 tendency to snap under pressure was to install a network of microphones throughout the sub that recorded the volume of each break.

Rush 鈥渨as angry I did that,鈥� Nissen says in the film.

In theory, the system would allow the team to separate what they accepted as standard pops from something more concerning. 鈥淲hat I couldn’t understand is, what鈥檚 the point?鈥� Mark Monroe, the film鈥檚 director, tells me in a recent interview. 鈥淚f no one has ever taken a carbon fiber submersible down to these depths, then how do you have a baseline of the noise鈥� that is acceptable and what would signal a problem worth surfacing?

The system ultimately did deliver a clear warning. It was ignored.

The film shows that, during the end of 罢颈迟补苍鈥檚 80th dive, those inside heard a major noise as it approached the surface. It has since been determined this was likely delamination of the carbon fiber (separation of its layers), which significantly weakened the hull. The audio monitoring system captured the disturbance, but OceanGate ignored it.

鈥淚t is, in my mind, the smoking gun of what eventually caused this,鈥� Captain Jason Neubauer, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigator overseeing the case, says in the film.

Documentary footage aboard the support vessel after dive 80 shows Rush mitigating the issue: 鈥淎t Mission 4, when we got to the surface, Scott was piloting and we heard a really loud bang. Not a soothing sound. But on the surface. But as Tim and [Tiantic expert] P.H. [Nargeolet] will attest, almost every deep-diving sub makes a noise at some point.鈥�

Titan imploded on its next deep dive.

The U.S. Coast Guard is still investigating the incident. Results are expected later this year. The final report will lay out the official determination of what happened, why it happened, and likely include recommendations for what needs to change to keep it from happening again. Depending on its findings, the case could be referred to the U.S. Justice Department for criminal charges.

鈥淚 think there is a part of the world that admires people who move past and break things, that don’t play by the rules,鈥� Monroe said. But 鈥渢here are some rules that do apply to all of us. Those are the rules of nature, the rules of physics, the rules of science. You can’t skirt those rules, and when you try to, bad things happen. And that’s what happened.鈥�

Why Are We Still Obsessed with Titan?

The new film raises a听question in my mind:听Why are we so willing to help a few people in an instant crisis, but unwilling to help the scores of people facing slow-moving tragedies we ignore every day?

At least five countries mobilized to search an area larger than the state of Connecticut. The U.S. spent , while Canada鈥檚 coast guard . These same agencies would typically debate such expenditures to help thousands of their own citizens. Yet they dropped those resources for five people from multiple countries in an instant.

You can see this phenomenon play out in other dramatic rescue situations. The whole world watched when was stuck in a well in the late eighties, when a mine collapse sealed for 69 days in 2010, and when the in 2018. The Thailand cave incident inspired two films, yet other tragedies don’t always catch the world’s attention.

To make sense of this mismatch, I turned to , a pioneering psychologist at the University of Oregon who has spent decades unraveling the mysteries of human compassion and indifference.

鈥淓motion is the major factor, and鈥t doesn’t respond to the scale of the problem,鈥� he says.

In fact, emotions do the opposite, shutting down as the problem grows. 鈥淥ur research shows the more who die, the less we care,鈥� Slovic says. He calls it ““鈥攁 flawed emotional calculus that leads us to underreact in mass crises, but leaves us equipped to act when a few people need help.

As situations grow in complexity and scale, 鈥減seudoinefficacy鈥� can take hold; we become so discouraged by our inability to help everyone that we end up doing nothing at all. Small contributions are abandoned, even if they are meaningful. They just feel too insignificant in the face of overwhelming need.

At the same time, our capacity to care diminishes as the number of people affected increases, a paradox known as 鈥減sychological numbing.鈥� Our brains are more attuned to the suffering of the few than that of the masses, Slovic adds. And the longer something goes on, the more we numb to it.

Rescue stories, like that of Baby Jessica or the Thai soccer team, generate massive public engagement because they focus on a few people we connect with, are time-bound, have a clear-cut resolution, and people feel there is a real chance of solving the problem.

Titan鈥檚 tragic ending had all the elements to capture our compassion: Five faces, a countdown clock, a clear-cut definition of success, and a sense that there was hope.

But that is not the only lesson Slovic鈥檚 research has for us when it comes to Titan. Everything leading up to that dramatic implosion mirrors the slow-moving crises we ignore every day. People saw the danger but either stayed quiet, looked away, or were pushed out. The slow creep of risk was tolerated, normalized, rationalized, until it became irreversible.

In that way, OceanGate isn鈥檛 an outlier. It鈥檚 a mirror.

We live in a world full of slow-moving disasters: climate change, systemic poverty, public health crises. We see the data. We hear the warnings. But action comes late, if at all, because urgency is hard to sustain when collapse doesn鈥檛 happen all at once.

That鈥檚 why Titan still grips us. Not just because it鈥檚 a story of audacious risk and avoidable death, but because it reflects something uncomfortably familiar. OceanGate may be gone, but the systems that doomed it are still all around us.

___________________________________________________

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If chasing auroras lights you up, nature has an even wilder spectacle waiting for you.

Picture dipping your kayak paddle into inky black water, only to watch the waves ignite neon blue. Every stroke sets off an underwater light show, as if you鈥檙e slicing through liquid starlight. Fish dart below, leaving glowing trails like comets. A manatee glides silently by, its entire body haloed in shimmer. Even the splash from your hand glows, a sparkling echo of your own movement. The surreal beauty transports you into a dreamscape where the stars have fallen into the sea, and you鈥檙e swimming through them.

Welcome to bioluminescence鈥攏ature鈥檚 mind-blowing ability to create its own light, which is is taking noctourism from the heavens down to earth.

鈥淵ou interact with it,鈥� says听 Dr. Edith Widder, a marine biologist who has dedicated her career to bioluminescence, and author of Below the Edge of Darkness: A Memoir of Exploring Light and Life in the Deep Sea. 鈥淵ou鈥檙e splashing, and the animals around you are making contrails as they swim through the luminescence.鈥�

Now, why would a creature need to glow? We normally think of animals wanting to hide at night, the dark a safety cloak.

The answer begins in the deep sea, a world with little to no sunlight. Here, survival demands innovation. Bioluminescence emerged as a vital form of communication in this vast, dark environment鈥攐ne that covers most of the planet.

In the open ocean, where there are no rocks or reefs to hide behind, animals adapted by diving into deeper waters during the day and rising to the surface at night to feed. This daily vertical migration left them in near-total darkness, creating evolutionary pressure to develop new ways to communicate and be seen. Self-sourced light became an incredibly common tool.

鈥淚n the open ocean environment, approximately 75 percent of the animals make light,鈥� says Widder.

And bioluminescence didn鈥檛 just evolve once. It evolved again and again: At least 50 separate times in evolutionary history. That鈥檚 how essential it is. Some animals release glowing clouds to distract or confuse predators. Others emit light from their bellies to blend into the faint light filtering down from above. Certain species flash patterns as a warning signal, while others use light like an alarm system, drawing in larger predators to interrupt an attack. In the deep sea, visibility can mean the difference between life and death鈥攁nd bioluminescence is how many species stay one step ahead.

So what is bioluminescence, exactly, and how does it work? 鈥淚t鈥檚 a type of chemiluminescence,鈥� explains Widder. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a chemical reaction like when you break a light stick鈥� where the chemicals are made by the animals themselves.鈥�

On land, the phenomenon is much less common. While fireflies and glowworms are familiar examples, they鈥檙e rare exceptions. Most terrestrial environments offer plenty of places to hide, so there was little evolutionary need for animals to develop the ability to glow.

Still, many breathtaking displays happen right at the surface, especially in bays and lagoons where plumes of bioluminescent plankton (dinoflagellates) gather by the millions. These tiny organisms flash when disturbed鈥攁nd that鈥檚 when the magic happens. Waves glow. Fish leave glowing trails. Kayakers paddle through sparks.

Want to see it for yourself? Whether you鈥檙e drifting through a glowing bay or hiking through firefly-lit forests, these nine bioluminescent tours offer front-row seats to the most electrifying show on Earth.

As Widder puts it: 鈥淚t鈥檚 life being manifest in light itself. A living fireworks display鈥攁nd you鈥檙e part of it.鈥�

U.S.

1. Indian River Lagoon, Florida

Just outside Cape Canaveral, 贵濒辞谤颈诲补鈥檚 Indian River Lagoon transforms into a glowing playground after dark. From June to October, this biodiverse estuary near Titusville comes alive with bioluminescence. Microscopic dinoflagellates light up the water with every paddle stroke, making it one of the brightest and most magical displays in the world.

鈥淭his is the best I鈥檝e ever seen,鈥� says Widdler. 鈥淚t鈥檚 a reserve, and there鈥檚 so much animal life in the water that鈥檚 lighting up with the luminescence as it swims through it. I鈥檝e seen manatees swim under my boat, all lit up, dolphins cruising along beside me, fish starting every which way. It鈥檚 breathtaking鈥� One of the times I was at Merritt Island, the water around me was just boiling with mullets that were jumping鈥攅ven jumping into my boat鈥攁nd it was just spectacular.鈥�

Get Up and Go Kayaking offers guided night tours in clear kayaks designed to maximize the experience. 听The transparent boats give you a front-row seat to the underwater light show. You’ll glide through waters filled with over 100,000 glowing organisms per liter, lighting up the path as marine life swims beside you. For the lux experience, book the VIP Filmed Bioluminescent Experience鈥攐ne-and-a-half hours longer than the public tour, your experience is filmed on a Sony A7Siii with high-end lenses before being cut together in a private video (from $1,000).

Details: ; adults: $99; children: $69

2. Great Smoky Mountains National Park, USA

Each spring, the forests of Great Smoky Mountains National Park light up with one of nature鈥檚 rarest displays鈥攕ynchronous fireflies. For just a few weeks from late May to early June, these tiny insects flash in unison, creating waves of light that ripple across the forest floor. It鈥檚 a phenomenon found in only a handful of places worldwide, and Elkmont is one of the best spots to see it.

To fully experience the magic, Blue Ridge Hiking Company offers a . This two-day guided group hike blends hiking, waterfalls, and wildflowers with the chance to witness the fireflies at their peak. The trip is beginner-friendly and open to families, making it a memorable option for all ages. are available for individuals and groups of up to five. While the trip is planned during peak firefly season, sightings cannot be guaranteed鈥攂ut the hike, scenery, and serene atmosphere of a national park after dark offer plenty of rewards of their own.

Details: ; $595/person; private groups from $1,460

3. Port Gamble Bay, Washington State

Just a short drive from Seattle, Port Gamble Bay in Washington state offers a quiet, stunning setting for one of the Pacific Northwest鈥檚 most enchanting night time experiences. Along nearly two miles of untouched shoreline, paddlers can witness the bay waters light up the night.

Olympic Outdoor Center runs a 2-hour bioluminescence kayak tour that鈥檚 perfect for all ages and experience levels. The adventure begins with a naturalist talk and kayak lesson before you head out into the calm waters. As your paddle cuts through the dark, the glowing trails left behind feel otherworldly.

Tours typically meet at 9:30 P.M., though times vary with the season. The launch point and return are both at the Port Gamble beach. Wear shoes that can get wet and pack a jacket for the chilly evening air. While the tour runs rain or shine, trips are canceled in the event of heavy wind, rain, or lightning.

Details: ; adults: $89; youth: $59

4. Mosquito Bay, Vieques, Puerto Rico

Hidden on the island of Vieques, Puerto Rico, Mosquito Bay explodes with light after dark. Known as the brightest bioluminescent bay in the world, this shallow lagoon comes alive each night as millions of dinoflagellates flash electric blue with every ripple, paddle, or splash. It鈥檚 like kayaking through liquid starlight. The darker the night, the more the water glows鈥攕o check the lunar calendar when booking; peak brilliance is at the new moon.

The ultimate way to experience it? A transparent kayak.

鈥淚t鈥檚 alien, but not in a scary sense. It doesn鈥檛 feel like it belongs on this planet,鈥� says traveler Jacob Berkowitz, who kayaked the bay multiple times between 2022 and 2024 during work trips to Puerto Rico. 鈥淵ou could put your hand in the water and see the effect instantaneously鈥� Even following somebody鈥檚 stream, just the flow of the color, it feels like something out of a James Cameron movie, very Avatar-濒颈办别.鈥�

Taino Aqua 国产吃瓜黑料s offers guided tours that let you float across glowing waters in two-person kayaks while watching the light swirl beneath you. Tours, which last one hour and 45 minutes, launch between 7:15 and 9:30 P.M. Plan on spending the night on Vieques Island after the tour, as there is no transportation off the island by the time the tour wraps.

Details: ; $75

Caribbean

5. Luminous Lagoon, Jamaica

Witness nature鈥檚 dazzling light show right from your hotel room patio at Jamaica鈥檚 Glistening Waters Hotel. Situated along the famous Luminous Lagoon, this magical location glows brilliantly at night thanks to millions of microscopic dinoflagellates. Watch fish dart and boats glide, each movement sparking electric-blue trails across the water鈥檚 surface.

Want a closer look? Join a nightly boat tour at 7 P.M. from the hotel鈥檚 restaurant dock. On this 35 to 45 minute adventure, you鈥檒l cruise into glowing waters while your captain shares captivating insights about the lagoon鈥檚 bioluminescence and its mineral-rich health benefits. Jump in for a nighttime swim and watch yourself glow with every splash鈥攁 truly unforgettable experience.

Details: ; adults: $25; children 10 and younger: $12.50

6. Bioluminescent Bay, Grand Cayman, Cayman Islands

Tucked away on the north side of Grand Cayman, a hidden lagoon bursts to life after sunset. With a high concentration of bioluminescent organisms, the bay glows electric blue when disturbed鈥攅ach wave, splash, or paddle lighting up the dark water in a surreal display.

鈥淲e kayaked through these dark waters until we got to a secluded part of the bay, and the water began to light up with the most diaphanous neon fireworks,鈥� says Melissa Hobson, owner of the Ocean Writer, who visited the bay while in Grand Cayman for her brother鈥檚 wedding. 鈥淚t was absolutely incandescent. It would sparkle as you hit it so we had a fantastic time reenacting Elsa from Frozen or Star Wars.鈥�

Sweet Spot Watersports offers one of the island鈥檚 most popular ways to experience this phenomenon. Their 2-hour bioluminescence tour includes two stops: a visit to Starfish Point and an extended stay in the glowing Bio Bay. Guides explain the science behind the spectacle, including a briefing on upside-down jellyfish that thrive in the area. Guests can swim in the bioluminescent water for a fully immersive experience. Departures vary based on conditions and are confirmed at booking, leaving from either Capt. Marvin鈥檚 Dock or Kaibo.

Details: ; ages 12+: $89; ages 3-11: $69

Oceana

7. Waitomo Caves, New Zealand

If you鈥檙e looking to add a shot of adrenaline to your bioluminescent bucket list, the Black Water Rafting tour in New Zealand鈥檚 Waitomo Caves delivers. This three-hour underground adventure takes you floating, climbing, and leaping through the glowworm-filled Ruakuri Cave. It鈥檚 equal parts thrill ride and light show.

After check-in, you鈥檒l gear up and test your black-water tubing skills before slipping into an underground river. Expect to jump off small waterfalls, navigate through rocky caverns, and drift beneath thousands of brilliant glowworms lighting up the cave ceiling like a night sky. After the tour, warm up with a hot shower and recharge at the on-site caf茅 at The Base.

Tours depart daily (except Christmas) and must be booked in advance. Bring swimwear, a towel, and a sense of adventure. The base is cashless, so bring a contactless payment method for the caf茅 and gift shop. No caving experience is needed, but you鈥檒l need moderate fitness and a minimum weight of 100 pounds.

Details: ; adults:$188 NZD; youth 12-15: $145 NZD; families: $557 NZD

Asia

8. Lan Ha Bay, Vietnam

Discover the magical bioluminescence of Lan Ha Bay, Vietnam year-round with Cat Ba Duky’s night kayaking tour. The light-up plankton are most visible at sunset, so this unique 5.5-hour adventure starts with a sunset cruise (setting sail at 5 P.M.) during which you can enjoy stunning views of limestone karsts. A traditional Vietnamese dinner is served onboard or at a floating fish farm, followed by the opportunity to swim or kayak through the glowing water. 听Private tours can be requested via email.

Details: ; $43 to $90 depending on the location of your hotel pickup.

9. Toyama Bay, Japan

Experience the ethereal magic of bioluminescence with an unforgettable early morning boat tour at Toyama Bay, Japan. Here, the dark waters of the Sea of Japan transform into an enchanting blue universe, thanks to the firefly squids. These tiny creatures generate light from three different body parts: their ventral surfaces, lower margins of each eye, and tips of each of the fourth pair of arms. The innumerable cephalopods illuminate the ocean, creating a spectacle of sparkling light that captivates and delights.

The Hotaruika Museum runs a unique early morning boat tour in Toyama Bay鈥攜ou depart at 2:30 A.M. and watch as local fishermen harvest the squids. Wind conditions can cause the tours to be cancelled or cut short鈥攂ut when conditions pan out, you鈥檒l witness these radiant creatures light up the dark ocean with bursts of blue, a rare spectacle available only from April to early May.

Details: ; adults: $53 USD; elementary and middle schoolers:$26.50 USD; younger children not permitted

Life was never the same after getting dive certified in the 54掳F waters of a flooded Ohio quarry. Local diving led Alexandra Gillespie to a globetrotting stint taking dozens of dives in cool places and writing about them afterward. Now a freelancer for 国产吃瓜黑料, she covers water and travel. Her writing has also appeared in NPR, National Geographic, Scuba Diving, and other national outlets.

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Islands are much more than beaches and palm trees. Throughout my travels, I鈥檝e found them to be places where rare adventures thrive鈥攖heir isolation lets time and tradition hew experiences you won鈥檛 find on the mainland.

While everyone鈥檚 idea of an island paradise is different (no judgment if you鈥檙e a 鈥渇eet-up-by-the-pool鈥� type), I鈥檓 drawn to islands that push me into new adventures. I love a place where I can hike down into a canyon one day and dive over coral the next, then experience a culture completely foreign to me鈥攍ike riding around town on a motorbike in Vietnam, swapping sake pours in Japan, or trying (and failing) to cut swirls in a miniature pineapple in Mauritius. From one under a rainforest canopy to another deepening into a cave system, each island I鈥檝e ever explored offers the opportunity to make memories as unique as its coastline.

Whether you’re seeking hidden hikes, rock-climbing crags, or ski slopes with ocean views, or just want to unwind on the perfect beach, this list has you covered. These wild isles are truly among the best and most beautiful in the world.

United States

1. Channel Islands, California

Five of the six Channel Islands鈥擜nacapa, Santa Barbara, Santa Cruz, San Miguel, and Santa Rosa鈥攆orm Channel Islands National Park, among one of the country鈥檚 least-visited (50th out of 63 total). A ferry ride, taking anywhere from one to four hours depending on your chosen isle, transports you into a landscape of sweeping Pacific views, open prairies, and sawtooth mountains.

Take the path less traveled on a 14-mile-round-trip day hike, , which ends in a sloping beach swamped in pinnipeds, where I arrived to the deafening roar of hundreds of seals and sea lions. (Be sure not to leave the actual hiking path on this particular island鈥攖he detritus from mid-century military exercises means unexploded ordnance still poses a risk in uncleared areas.)

If you choose to stay the night anywhere in the park, whether backcountry or at a more accessible site, the reward is the same: a California sky untouched by light pollution.

Alone outside of the national park is Catalina Island, where wild buffalo graze the hillsides, having long ago been left behind from a Golden Age film shoot. Here you can trek the stunning 38.5-mile Trans-Catalina Trail, a rugged through hike marked by desert scrub and ocean views.

Offshore, gray whales breach in winter and blue whales glide through in summer, turning the sea into a stage for nature鈥檚 greatest performances. Beneath the surface, the waters teem with life.

Each island is distinct. At Catalina鈥檚 Casino Point, step into underwater worlds from the stairs that drop straight into the sea, where kelp forests house garibaldi and (if you get a lucky day like I did) enormous sea bass.

Divers encounter a giant sea bass meandering through Casino Point’s kelp forest. Video: Alexandra Gillespie.

Or hop aboard a to see the wonders of Anacapa, where Spanish shawl nudibranch and California sheephead move through towering kelp forests. On Santa Cruz, you can explore sea caves by kayak. Park visitors who have a can enjoy the spoils of the sea: No scallop has ever tasted better than the one I pried from a rock off the shore of San Miguel, carrying it several miles uphill in a drybag full of seawater to fry in ghee at sunset.

2. Kaua驶i, Hawai

In Kaua驶i, nature reigns supreme. With 90 percent of its lush rainforests, jagged cliffs, and hidden beaches inaccessible by car, this wild paradise demands to be explored by foot, in a kayak, or from the sky.

Along the Na Pali Coast, hike the legendary 11-mile , which clings to cliffs that drop into the turquoise Pacific. Then the Wailua River, slipping through dense rainforest to . Maybe strap in for a through jungle canopies or centuries-old tunnels carved into volcanic rock.

For surfers, Kaua驶i is a siren call. Each winter, legendary breaks transform into rushing walls of water, testing even the most seasoned wave riders, while summer swells mellow out and welcome beginning surfers. Rookies can also cut their teeth at the gentle rollers of Po驶ip奴 or find their rhythm on the dependable waves of Kealia Beach. Thrill-seekers chase dangerous, heavy reef breaks far from the crowds at Shipwreck Beach and Polihale.

Dive into Poipu鈥檚 crystal waters to swim with sea turtles, or soar over the rolling peaks of Waimea Canyon in a . At night, seek the traditional experience of Kauai at a luau, where a vibrant culture comes alive through music and dance.

3. Isle Royale, Michigan

Isle Royale strips nature down to its raw essentials on hiking trails through lofty forests and endless vistas of water. Situated in the cold, clear clutches of Lake Superior, this 98-percent untamed Isle Royale National Park in my home state is a haven for adventurers from spring through fall. Hike the 40-mile for sweeping views that make you feel like you鈥檝e reached the edge of the world. Or dive deep beneath the surface of the lake, exploring the eerie wrecks of the 525-foot steel freighter the Emperor or the 328-foot Glenlyon鈥攈aunting reminders of Lake Superior鈥檚 power.

Gray wolves and moose roam freely, a restless dance of predator and prey subject to an of the volatile population dynamics.

The night sky is a celestial masterpiece unmarred by city lights. Stargazing at Scoville Point might even reward you with the sight of the elusive Northern Lights.

Whether you鈥檙e fishing for trout, paddling serene waters, or standing in quiet awe, Isle Royale demands that you lose yourself in its wild interior.

South America

4. Isla Grande de Tierra del Fuego, Chilean and Argentine Patagonia

Tierra del Fuego, a land of jagged peaks, windswept coasts, and staggering beauty, is the last whisper of the world before Antarctica. Hike along the Beagle Channel on the Senda Costera, or push yourself on the steep for awe-inspiring views of mountains plunging into icy waters. The bold can tackle the Dientes de Navarino Trail鈥攐ne of the most southerly trekking routes in the world.

In Tierra del Fuego National Park, guanacos graze, condors soar, and dolphins cut through glassy bays. Take a ride on the Train at the End of the World, along a picturesque four-mile stretch of the world鈥檚 southernmost railroad, which was initially built for prisoner transport.

Guanacos in Chilean Patagonia, north of Tierra del Fuego in Valle Chacabuco, Parque Nacional Patagonia. (Video: Alison Osius)

Stir history into your trip at Estancia Harberton, a run by the fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-generation members of the first permanent European missionaries to arrive here, an experience that offers a window into early Y谩mana-settler relationships.

During winter (June through October), carve fresh powder at Cerro Castor, Argentina’s southernmost ski resort, or strap in to go and .

Caribbean Sea

5. Dominica

Dominica is unspoiled and unforgettable. Lace up your boots for the 115-mile , the longest hiking trail in the Caribbean, through thriving rainforests, soaring waterfalls, and misty peaks. Then trek to , a cauldron of steaming water in the jungle, where you can soak in natural volcanic hot springs and mud baths.

For water enthusiasts, Dominica recently unveiled a groundbreaking 32-nautical-mile kayak trail encircling the island鈥攁 six-day journey through pristine waters. You can snorkel or dive at , where volcanic springs bubble up through the ocean floor, creating an underwater celebration.

Whale watching here is more than a distant boat sighting. It鈥檚 an in-water encounter, as Dominica is home to a . The experience of snorkeling alongside these gentle behemoths is said to be nothing short of transformative.

6. Bay Islands, Honduras

The Bay Islands are three gems of organic beauty and underwater wonders: Roat谩n, Utila, and Guanaja. Hike through the Carambola Botanical Gardens and Nature Trails on Roat谩n, over 40 acres of tropical forests to sweeping views of the sea, or summit Pumpkin Hill on Utila for a quick, rewarding climb with vistas clear to the horizon. The islands’ rich biodiversity, from tropical birds to marine life, embraces you.

These islands are a diver’s paradise. Whale sharks鈥攇entle giants bigger than school buses鈥攇lide through the depths from March and April and October to December, while the Halliburton wreck sits ever-waiting, and another site offers radiant coral reef. Kayakers can lose themselves in the or paddle through the peaceful waters of Roat谩n鈥檚 West End, where the only company is the song of birds and the soft splash of paddles.

Asia

7. C谩t B脿 Island, Vietnam

My memories of C谩t B脿 Island are faded Polaroids, worn and softened at the edges. Even after half a dozen years, I still revisit my physical and mental snapshots from my time on that rugged, beautiful island in one of my favorite countries.

Lan Ha Bay is C谩t B脿 Island鈥檚 crown jewel, where imposing limestone karsts bursting out of jade-green water craft an otherworldly landscape. Think Ha Long Bay, but without the crowds. You can kayak through hidden lagoons and drift past the region鈥檚 . When I visited in 2018, it cost a grand total of $80 to charter a private boat tour for two, and the price included a kayak excursion. can choose from among nearly or go rogue with deep-water soloing, dropping into the sea if they fall or choosing whether to jump from the top.

Inland, beneath the island鈥檚 surface, whisper haunting stories of war, and a bombproof hospital used during the American War (or, as we call it stateside, the Vietnam War) still stands as a museum.

Topside, the 102-square mile C谩t B脿 National Park covers a third of the island, with trails that snake through jungles, up mist-shrouded peaks, and across wildlife-rich terrain. Hike 1.5 near-vertical, damp miles to the top of for sweeping views (I found the slippery rocks worth the risk of a tweaked ankle), or take on the challenging Ao Ech route through the rainforest to the remote Viet Hai Village.

When it鈥檚 time to unwind, grab a ferry to nearby Monkey Island, where aggressive monkeys provide a good laugh on the beach鈥攐r hike there from the other side of the island after a night at , which served a fresh seafood barbecue I still dream of.

8. Taiwan

In Taiwan, adventure collides with jaw-dropping landscapes and a lively culture. Start with its hikes: explore the marble cliffs of Taroko Gorge, or take in the sunrise over ancient forests in Alishan. For a city-side thrill, climb and view Taipei鈥檚 skyline with the famed skyscraper Taipei 101 piercing the clouds.

Taiwan鈥檚 untamed mountains, like Jade Mountain鈥攁t nearly 13,000 feet the region鈥檚 highest peak, located in Yushan National Park鈥攊nvite trekkers to rise above the clouds, where Formosan black bears roar and rare birds like the endemic mikado pheasant pass by.

If the sea is calling your name, head south to , where coral reefs hum with life beneath the waves, or catch the surf at Jialeshui Beach. Cyclists can carve through the countryside on routes that loop around famed , or push through the rolling hills of the . For the sandstone cliffs at soar above crashing waves.

Europe

9. Lofoten Islands, Norway

Sculpted by glaciers and smoothed by icy waters, Lofoten is an ideal Nordic isle for adventurers. In summer, hike the spine of the island chain on the 99-mile , climb Reinebringen for panoramic views of a lifetime, or like the four-mile Justadtinden. For a real challenge, tackle the highest peaks like , or keep it mellow with shorter routes like , where every view is postcard worthy.

Though known for unpredictable weather year-round, the islands are driest and get drenched in October. This dry season also has the longest daylight hours, averaging seven to eight a day. You鈥檒l experience the Midnight Sun from May to mid-July. In contrast, Polar Night鈥攚hen the sun does not crest the horizon for more than 24 hours鈥攅xtends from early December to early January, and coincides with high precipitation levels.

From mid-January through March, trade hiking boots for skis and carve down slopes that plunge toward shimmering fjords. Ski resorts like Lofoten Ski Lodge offer powder runs with ocean views that no other ski destination can match. If you鈥檇 rather be on the water, paddle through majestic fjords framed by snow-capped mountains, or go deeper and in the icy seas Vikings once fished.

And if you鈥檙e here from October to January, shimmy into a dry suit and as they hunt herring in the cold, clear fjords鈥攆or a raw, heart-pounding encounter with the ocean鈥檚 top predator. As night falls, look up: the often set the sky ablaze in a kaleidoscope of green and purple (especially in October or January to mid March).

10. S茫o Miguel, Azores, Portugal

S茫o Miguel is a volcanic playground set adrift in the Atlantic. 国产吃瓜黑料 pulses through its hidden trails, arching waves, and steaming hot springs.

Hike the craggy ridges of Sete Cidades, where twin sapphire lakes glisten below kayakers, or meander on the winding paths to the crater lake of Lagoa do Fogo. Brave the canyon walls of Ribeira dos Caldeir玫es, into hidden pools, or skip through into the clear waters off Vila Franca do Campo, where whales and dolphins . The surfing in Portugal is more than the 100-foot waves at Nazar茅: Experienced surfers can tackle the powerful swells at Praia de Ribeira Grande on S茫o Miguel.

S茫o Miguel is also a place to savor. When you鈥檙e ready to slow down, sip your way through Gorreana, Europe鈥檚 only tea plantation, where the salty ocean air infuses every leaf. Then sink into the mineral-rich hot springs at Furnas, where the earth itself simmers beneath your feet, or wander through the botanical paradise of Terra Nostra Park, home to over 600 different types of camellias, one of the largest collections in the world. End the day with Cozido das Furnas鈥攁 local stew , a culinary experience as raw and earthy as the island itself.

11. Corsica, France

Corsica is an adventure where mountains, sea, and sky meet.

For the hardcore hiker, the through Corsica鈥檚 craggy ridges, where granite peaks and expansive vistas remind you of just how small you are. But there鈥檚 something for everyone鈥攖ake the family on a coastal stroll at Cap Corse or stand in awe at the serrated spires of Aiguilles de Bavella. Climbers on the red cliffs of will revel in Mediterranean views.

Corsica鈥檚 waters are as clear as glass. Dive into the , a UNESCO World Heritage site, where cliffs plunge into an underwater world brimming with life such as crabs, bottlenose dolphins, and over 450 different seaweeds. Paddle along the Gulf of Porto and uncover hidden coves or snorkel over vibrant reefs at .

Even in winter, Corsica keeps calling. for views that stretch to the sea, or hit the runs at Ghisoni where seven slopes stretch before you.

Oceana

12. Moorea, French Polynesia

Moorea is a paradise that stitches the seam between lush peaks and crystalline seas. Hike through changing canvases, from the steep, thrilling climbs of Mount Rotui鈥攐ffering dual bay views鈥攖o the rainforest-draped paths of the . For those seeking a quick yet rewarding trek, the two-mile Magic Mountain trail rises more than 1,300 feet to unveil a panorama in turquoise waters. Zip line adventures at Tiki Parc offer another bird鈥檚-eye view of the verdant landscape.

But the true wonders of Moorea are beneath its waves. The island鈥檚 clear lagoons are snorkeling sanctuaries where colorful reefs flourish. Kayak in waters so pure you can see the ocean floor through the bottom of your transparent vessel, or get up close and personal with reefs diving . Moorea brings you face-to-face with the ocean’s gentle giants, whether it鈥檚 watching resident dolphins play in the wake of a boat or witnessing the majestic humpback whales.

Africa

13. Zanzibar, Tanzania

Zanzibar is a crossroads of the senses. Beneath its turquoise waters, the reefs come alive鈥攄ive , where the marine biodiversity rivals that of any aquarium, or explore Nungwi鈥檚 sprawling coral gardens. For the more adventurous, offers out-of-the-way dives where dolphins twirl through the currents and reef sharks glide by in silent elegance.

Above the waves, the consistent winds and shallow waters at Paje Beach make for a , drawing aficionados from around the world. And far, far above the waves, soar over lush terrain as the Indian Ocean glimmers ahead, offering rare shoreline landings on white sands.

Prefer something more tranquil? along Zanzibar鈥檚 serene coastlines through mangroves and lagoons that feel untouched by time.

But Zanzibar is more than its beaches鈥攊t鈥檚 alive with history. In Stone Town, a Swahili coastal trading town with UNESCO status, every corner is a story. Stop at the Old Fort, get lost in the buzz of Darajani Market, or taste the island鈥檚 blend of Swahili, Arab, and Indian flavors on a .

Alexandra Gillespie is a freelance writer covering water and outdoor travel. From Mauritius to Mackinac, islands hold a special place in her heart鈥攊f you need a boat to get there, she鈥檚 game. She was previously the digital editor of Scuba Diving magazine. Her most recent stories for 国产吃瓜黑料 include 鈥�The 12 Most Beautiful Scuba Diving Destinations in the World,鈥� 鈥�Gear-Testing Trips That Let You Try Before You Buy,鈥� and 鈥�Stockton Rush, the Pilot of Missing Titanic Sub, Told 国产吃瓜黑料 Why He Kept Going Back.鈥�

The post The 13 Best Islands in the World for Outdoor 国产吃瓜黑料 appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Every scuba dive starts the same way: Gurgling bubbles and a hissing regulator. Then silence. Signaling 鈥渙kay鈥� to your buddy, you descend into whatever adventure waits below. After this, there鈥檚 no script鈥攏ature determines what will come. You鈥檙e just the lucky witness. And fortunate you are. A scuba certification is an underwater passport that lets you access some of the best scuba diving in the world. Just like topside travel, you can pick destinations based on what you enjoy most. Some divers swear swimming with a bait ball is the most stunning experience under the sun. You鈥檒l also find others who insist a calm reefscape can鈥檛 be beat while others chase the drama of a wall dive.

I鈥檓 a kelp woman. To me, the sunbeams of a kelp canopy are holier than any light seeping through cathedral stained glass. I鈥檝e dived around the world and have yet to find anything that beats twirling sea lions and scuttling crabs. Other divers will tell you nothing is worth squeezing into a 7 millimeter wetsuit. More forest for me, I suppose. And, as my family often says: De gustibus non est disputandum鈥攊n matters of taste, there can be no disputes. (Though, to be honest, we usually say it with sarcasm about a clearly poor opinion. I have a huffy 鈥�de gustibus鈥� ready for anyone who thinks soaring through kelp isn鈥檛 worth wearing a hood.)

So, what are you waiting for? The ocean’s ready. Pack your bags, grab your gear, and choose your adventure. The options are endless, but here鈥檚 my shortlist to the best scuba diving in the world. (By the way, I got scuba certified in 2019, I was the digital editor of Scuba Diving听magazine from 2020 – 2022, and I’ve gone diving in four countries across three continents, racking up 150鈥攁nd counting鈥攖otal plunges. So yeah, I know what I’m talking about.)

Best Places to Scuba Dive in the U.S.

Monterey, California

California鈥檚 Monterey Bay Submarine Canyon is a geography that demands superlatives. The largest undersea canyon on the U.S. West Coast, it鈥檚 comparable in size to the Grand Canyon. The slope starts at the shore of the Monterey Peninsula and quickly plummets more than a mile. This is why the Monterey Bay Aquarium constantly releases amazing deep sea footage so often鈥攖he deep is their backyard.

It also means divers can access a unique underwater environment in the bay鈥檚 sheltered conditions. A swift ascent from the shallows delivers stunning encounters on a shore dive, from massive fried egg jellyfish to hulking mola-molas. Below you, California sea stars slouch in silence. And overhead? The current drives opalescent and the Rainbow nudibranch to wiggle hello at the sea nettles drifting past. You can dance with playful sea lions and marvel at massive kelp鈥攖here鈥檚 a reason these are called the Sequoias of the Sea.

Don’t Miss: Fried egg jellyfish are easy to spot in the water column, but that doesn鈥檛 make the sight of a 2-foot fried egg with tentacles that can stretch to 20 feet any less impressive.

Awesome Dive 国产吃瓜黑料: Monterey Expeditions, a outdoors tour company owned and operated by two local divers, runs expeditions to lesser-known spots along the Monterey and Big Sur coast. include sea lion dives ($199), where you can meet upwards of a dozen resident pinnipeds, and the Canyon and Canopy tour ($299)鈥攁 2-tank kelp forest trip with sightings that can include a mola mola cleaning station and lingcod, followed by a beach grill out.

Conditions, Gear & Training:

听 Water Temps: Up to 65掳F from August – October, down to 50掳F from December – February
听 Visibility: 10 – 50 feet
听 Equipment: 7 millimeter (mm) wetsuit with hooded vest and boots minimum; a drysuit is recommended.
听 Training: ; drysuit cert if you鈥檙e using one

Hawaii

Volcanic fury sculpted these islands, and their handiwork is visible in the blue (after all, the islands are just the portion of the eruptions that broke sea level). Lava tubes鈥攗nderwater caverns and tunnels鈥攚eave through the reef, remnants of its fiery creation. And all around coral explodes in color, a testament to the volcanic soil’s rich nutrients and the deep water’s bounty.

This aquatic Arcadia attracts the underwater glitterati: turtles glide with ancient grace, sharks patrol the edges, whales breach the surface, and dolphins weave through the blue. Even the state fish, the humuhumunukunukuapua’a (or reef triggerfish, for the less tongue-tied), flaunts its vibrant colors.

Don’t Miss: The waters off of Kona boast a resident population of more than 200 oceanic mantas, which have a wingspan that can hit 26 feet. Having dived with these animals in Mexico, I can attest that they are truly awe-inspiring鈥攁nd you can meet them at night off the shores of Kona. Divers drop into the water shortly after sunset with flashlights, which pull the mantas in to swoop directly overhead as they feed.

Awesome Dive 国产吃瓜黑料: Several operators offer after-dark manta encounters, including: (from $170); (from $149); (from $199 for a 2-tank); (from $199 for a 2-tank)

Conditions, Gear & Training:

听 Water Temps: 75掳F – 80掳F
听 Visibility: 50 – 120+ feet
听 Equipment: 3 mm
听 Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Best Places to Scuba Dive in the Caribbean, and Central and South America

Cozumel, Mexico

Ditch Cancun’s beach clubs for the currents of Cozumel, Mexico where drift dives whisk you to a new world.

Now, don鈥檛 let the word 鈥榙rift dive鈥� scare you. Although the currents at famous sites like the Santa Rosa Wall dictate your dive, it鈥檚 like floating along in an underwater lazy river, not a riptide. You get to kick back, breathe deep from your regulator, and watch ocean life hustle by. As you flit through this low-rise coral city, keep your eyes peeled for eagle rays soaring overhead, green turtles flapping by, morays opening wide for cleaner shrimp, nurse sharks resting on the sand, and dozens of fish species dancing around.

Keep your eyes peeled for the endemic splendid toadfish 鈥� found only in Cozumel鈥攖hat has a spiky beard and settles into cracks like a grumpy man on his front-porch rocking chair.

Don’t Miss: Palancar Reef, on the southwest side of the island, is one of the most popular reef systems in the area. Divers can swim through caves and underwater tunnels while keeping their eyes peeled for eagle rays and stingrays.

Awesome Dive 国产吃瓜黑料: Dive with Martin offers a that, in addition to two days of Cozumel reef diving, includes a day of diving the Yucatan Peninsula鈥檚 famous cenotes, limestone sinkholes that are essentially underground lakes ($380).

Conditions, Gear & Training:

听 Water Temps: 75掳F from December – February; 85掳F from June – August
听 Visibility: 80 – 100 feet
听 Equipment: Rash guard or 3 mm shorty; surface marker buoy (SMB)
听 Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Belize

The world鈥檚 second-largest barrier reef is a riot of life鈥攏early 1,400 species call this UNESCO world heritage site home. Green, hawksbill and loggerhead turtles all scuttle around here, as well as angelfish, blennies, seahorses, and parrotfish. They spend their days weaving in and out of a rich tapestry of hard and soft corals that stretches for 190-miles. Shark aficionados will be delighted with the chance to encounter several shark species, including lemon, nurse, and Caribbean reef sharks.

To me, 叠别濒颈锄别鈥檚 real magic arrives after dark. I can never get enough of the sea life that comes out in the light of the moon, especially unfurling octopus and eels with glinting eyes. During my week there, not a night went by without a Caribbean reef squid encounter. One little guy that swam straight into my face, balled his tentacles into fists, and inked me in a fit of pique.

Don’t Miss: The Great Blue Hole鈥攎ade famous by SCUBA inventor Jacques Cousteau himself鈥攊s a 407-foot deep sinkhole in the middle of Lighthouse Reef. The staggering submerged stalactites jut downward into a (seemingly) infinite darkness, making this a one-of-a-kind dive.

Awesome Dive 国产吃瓜黑料: Experience the in just three days with Ambergris Divers (five dives, from $499).

Conditions, Gear & Training:

听 Water Temps: High 70s December – April, low 80s May – November
听 Visibility: 40-80+ feet, best April – June
听 Equipment: 3mm shorty – 5 mm full wetsuit, depending on personal comfort and number of dives
听 Training: A will allow you to go 130 feet deep, instead of the standard 60 foot limit for an Open Water diver.

Bonaire

You don鈥檛 need a boat to do Bonaire. This Dutch Caribbean island, the “Shore Diving Capital of the World,” lets you roll out of bed and into adventure. Vibrant reefs teeming with 470 fish species wait right off the shore鈥擲alt Pier, Alice in Wonderland, Bari Reef, and 1000 Steps, to name a few sites. Rent a truck, go through the , and you’re ready to dive.

Dip below the waves and you鈥檙e instantly transported. Tarpon streak past, eels slither from their dens, stingrays glide like phantoms. Turtles鈥攈awksbill and green鈥攃ruise serenely, while playful dolphins weave through the blue. Keep your eyes peeled, you might spot a frogfish camouflaged amongst the coral, a seahorse clinging to a swaying fan, or even a pygmy goby, smaller than your fingernail. Disappointment is as rare as a bad day in paradise when you can spot more than 100 species on a single dive.

Don’t Miss: Turtle lovers rejoice 鈥� this is a great place to meet your flippered friend on their turf. Hawksbill and green turtles live near the island year round, and lucky divers can encounter loggerhead turtles from April to December.

Awesome Dive 国产吃瓜黑料: Get the full Bonaire experience with Buddy Dive鈥檚 week-long , which includes a car rental, accommodations, unlimited shore diving, six boat dives, and more (from $1,256).

Conditions, Gear & Training:

听 Water Temps: 78掳F – 84掳F
听 Visibility: 100 – 150 feet
听 Equipment: Rash guard or 3 mm
听 Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

This world-famous chain of 13 islands is nestled 600 miles from mainland Ecuador. Divers who make the crossing get a view of the islands even Darwin didn鈥檛 experience during his formative five-week stint here. (I wonder how the sight of hundreds of hammerheads bustling beneath the HMS Beagle would have shaped his theory of evolution鈥攖alk about a plot twist.)

These waters are stocked with once-in-a-lifetime encounters: One in five marine animals is endemic, meaning they are found nowhere else in the world. This includes the world鈥檚 only marine iguanas鈥攚hich forage underwater for sea algae鈥攁nd tropical penguins. Plenty of large animals live here as well, setting the stage for incredible encounters, including Galapagos and hammerhead sharks, and whale sharks (the world鈥檚 largest fish, which top out longer than a school bus).

Don’t Miss: Hammerhead sharks are the only shark species that schools, and hundreds of scalloped hammerheads aggregate at a time in the Galapagos Marine Reserve. While they live there year-round, they are most abundant in January around Darwin and Wolf Islands.

Awesome Dive 国产吃瓜黑料: Spend an entire week diving the islands aboard the , a 16-passenger scuba yacht that offers up to four dives a day and two land excursions during the trip. (From $7,100; $100 for nitrox). And, fun fact, passengers on this boat witnessed the Darwin Arch collapse in real time when it crumbled in 2021.

Conditions, Gear & Training:

听 Water Temps: Highly variable.听62掳F – 68掳F from June – December; 70掳F – 82掳F from December – May
听 Visibility: 10 – 70 feet
听 Equipment: 7 mm wetsuit, hood, boots, gloves, SMB, marine rescue GPS
听 Training: Advanced Open Water Diver Certification recommended to be better equipped for local conditions, which can be challenging

Best Places to Scuba Dive in Asia and Oceania

Indonesia

Variety is the name of the game in Indo. Whether you want to dive a reef or a wall, see a wreck or encounter endemics, catch a drift or search through muck, you can do it here.

This immense archipelago is the epicenter of the Coral Triangle, a global hotspot of marine biodiversity, and home to some of the best scuba diving in the world. Divers can encounter a dazzling array of sea creatures, massive manta rays and impossibly tiny pygmy seahorses, the bizarre mola mola, the deceptive Rhinopias, the gelatinous cuttlefish, and the mimic octopus, just to name a few.

And that鈥檚 before you consider the wreck diving. Due to its strategic location in the Pacific during World War II, these waters were a major battle ground. The remnants of this conflict lie scattered on the ocean floor, including USAT Liberty, Emma Miller, and Spiegel Estate.

Don’t Miss: Here鈥檚 my one topside tip鈥擪omodo dragons can only be seen in Indonesia, so don鈥檛 miss your chance. Visit Komodo National Park on Komodo Island to see these fascinating lizards live before you hit the deep sea.

Awesome Dive 国产吃瓜黑料: Sail in style on the , a luxury wooden ship with spa, outdoor dining, and more staff than guests. Itineraries shift throughout the year depending on the season. (From $4,760 for 7 nights.)

Conditions, Gear & Training:

听 Water Temps: 82掳F – 84掳F
听 Visibility: 30 – 60 feet
听 Equipment: 3 mm; reef hook; SMB
听 Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Sabah, Malaysia

Sipadan’s a riot, a swirling, fish-drunk mess that’ll leave you reeling. Walls of coral tumble from this small inland into the impossibly blue, teeming with so many turtles they cause traffic jams. Schools of jackfish swirl like underwater tornadoes, thousands strong, parting to reveal patrolling sharks. Then there’s the muck, the weird stuff鈥攆rogfish, seahorses, and other minute creatures. It’s Barracuda Point, though, that’s the main event. A whirlwind of teeth and scales, these fish frenzies hypnotize even the most seasoned scuba divers.

Across the channel, Mabul and Kapalai offer a different dance, a quieter ballet of the bizarre. Dive down to the sandy havens, where flamboyant cuttlefish strut their chromatic wares, and flamboyant cuttlefish wannabes, the mimic octopus, put on their one-man shows. Torchlight reveals the otherworldly: bobbing nudibranchs in fluorescent hues, and the toothy grin of a moray eel peeking from its coral castle. It’s a land of the strange and the small, a microcosm of wonder waiting to be unraveled, one seadragon swirl at a time.

Don’t Miss: Barracuda Point is the show stopper here. Where else will turn your head with a tornado of teeth?

Awesome Dive 国产吃瓜黑料: Advanced divers can snag a coveted Sipadan permit through their chosen dive operator. These permits (178 daily) are limited to conserve the ecosystem. It鈥檚 advised that you stay for at least four days to get a dive day in. guarantees a permit for 3 day, 2 night bookings (from $468)鈥攖he other days are spent diving Mabul and Kapali.

Conditions, Gear & Training:

听 Water Temps: 78掳F – 84掳F
听 Visibility: 30 – 80 feet
听 Equipment: 3 mm; reef hook; SMB
听 Certification: Advanced Open Water Certification required

Great Barrier Reef, Australia

This is no aquarium. So large it鈥檚 visible from space, the Great Barrier Reef is the beating heart of the ocean, wild and unforgettable. You could spend a lifetime scuba diving here and still not see it all.

Vibrant coral unspool beneath your fins, teeming with fish that swirl and flash like neon confetti. Turtles cruise with the calm of ancient mariners, sharks sleek and curious. Then there’s the big stuff: the manta rays, whale sharks, and dugongs. And if you’re lucky between November and March, maybe, just maybe, you’ll time it right and see a coral spawning鈥攁n underwater blizzard of life beginning anew.

Don’t Miss: offers liveaboard itineraries that overlap with coral spawning, though the experience is not guaranteed. Coral typically spawn between the 2nd and 6th day of the November full moon when the water has been north of 80 degrees for a month, a date that can shift with water temperatures. (I promise that鈥檚 , not a horoscope.) Contact Mike Ball to see which itinerary is expected to line up with the upcoming spawning.

Awesome Dive 国产吃瓜黑料: Fin through the Coral Greenhouse, the world鈥檚 largest underwater structure, at the 鈥攐ne of dozens of installations in Queensland鈥檚 submerged gallery crafted by underwater artist Jason deCaires Taylor. ($390 adult, $340 children; departs from Townsville and Magnetic Island)

Conditions, Gear & Training:

听 Water Temps: Low of 68掳F June – August; High around 84掳F December – February
听 Visibility: 30 – 100 feet
听 Equipment: 3 – 5 mm
听 Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Best Places to Scuba Dive in the Indian Ocean

Maldives

There are more dives than islands in the Maldives鈥攁nd that鈥檚 saying something in a country stitched together across more than 1,100 islands. Whether you crave drift dives through vibrant coral gardens, adrenaline-pumping pinnacles, or the eerie allure of wrecks, this scattered paradise caters to every diver’s whim.

Pelagic lovers will be delighted by the wide variety here, from tiger sharks to manta rays, mola molas to barracudas. Drift dives generally offer the best opportunities to encounter these big animals, as the currents bring in nutrients that pull them in from the blue. South Ari Atoll is known for its drift adventures; other spots with awe-inspiring big animal encounters include the cleaning station at Lankan Manta Point in the Mal茅 Atoll and Hammerhead Point in the Rasdhoo Atoll. Photographers will delight in the candyland that鈥檚 Rainbow Reef, which bustles between islands in the Mal茅 Atoll.

Don’t Miss: Whale sharks, the world鈥檚 largest fish, live in the Maldives year-round. Growing up to 40 feet in length, this is an encounter many divers chase for years鈥攁nd happens pretty much every day at South Ari Atoll.

Awesome Dive 国产吃瓜黑料: Contribute to whale shark research when you spend 11 days aboard the M/V Felicity, swimming with whale sharks to collect data for the (From ).

Conditions, Gear & Training:

听 Water Temps: 80掳F – 86掳
听 Visibility: 30 – 100 feet
听 Equipment: 3 mm; reef hook; SMB
听 Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Seychelles

Forget the overfished reefs and crowded coral walkways. Nestled at the intersection of the Indian Ocean, the Arabian Sea, and the Somali Current, the Seychelles offers solitude on land and vivid adventure below.

Here, the vibrant hues of coral gardens rival any rainforest canopy. These healthy reefs 鈥攑rotected by the country’s unwavering commitment to conservation 鈥� teem with biodiversity. Silent giants like manta rays and whale sharks soar through technicolor depths. Reef sharks patrol their claim with quiet purpose, while more than 20 species of playful dolphins weave between divers, their curiosity as boundless as the ocean itself. Layer turtles, eels, batfish, yellow snapper and another 1,000-or-so fish across this aquatic city, and you have more than enough beauty to last you a lifetime.

Don’t Miss: Keep your eyes peeled for nudibranchs鈥攖hese minute and stunning sea slugs that come in every hue and shape imaginable. Orange polka dots with purple ruffles? Sure. Zebra striped with yellow splotches? You got it. With hundreds of different species in the Seychelles seas, these sands are a slug circus.

Awesome Dive 国产吃瓜黑料: Explore as you like with Dive Explorer Seychelles, which offers everything from a day ($520.50) to a that lets you taste everything the islands have to offer ($3,567).

Conditions, Gear & Training:

听 Water Temps: Low of 77掳F from June to September; highs around 84掳F April – May and October – November
听 Visibility: 30 – 100 feet
听 Equipment: Rash guard or 3mm
听 Training: Open Water Diver Certification

Best Place to Scuba Dive in the Southern Ocean

Antarctica

A certain breed of divers itches for ice. If that鈥檚 you, the fractured ice shelves of Antarctica will be Eden.

Unlike the brazen hues of coral, the palette here is stark鈥攇lacial blues, inky blacks, the occasional flash of silver. With patience and luck, action ruptures the stillness: Gentoo penguins rocket past in a black and white ballet before colossal leopard seals glide with alien grace, their yellowed eyes locked on yours.

Spring unveils a feast. Krill, the lifeblood of the Southern Ocean, paints the water a cloudy red. This bounty draws colossal whales, their mournful songs echoing through the water column.

It’s a world usually untouched that radiates with untamed power. And it’s not for the faint of heart, but for those who dare, it etches the soul.

Don’t Miss: Encountering a leopard shark is far from guaranteed, but meeting this apex predator in their natural habitat is to encounter unbridled energy.

Awesome Dive 国产吃瓜黑料: Add diving to your , which traverses waters traveled by Humpback, Minke, and Fin whales. (From $5,450 for the cruise, plus $815 to add dive excursions; 30 drysuit dives required to book dives)

Conditions, Gear & Training:

听 Water Temps: Mid 20s to mid 30s 掳F
听 Visibility: 40 to 100 feet, excluding plankton blooms
听 听Equipment: Drysuit; heated vest; hood; gloves; boots; ice-rated regulator
听 Certifications: Ice diving required and rescue diver training recommended

Life was never the same after getting dive certified in the 54掳F waters of a flooded Ohio quarry. Local diving led Alexandra Gillespie to a globetrotting stint taking dozens of dives in cool places and writing about them afterward. Now a freelancer for 国产吃瓜黑料, she covers water and travel. Her writing has also appeared in NPR, National Geographic, Scuba Diving, and other national outlets.

The post The 12 Most Beautiful Scuba Diving Destinations in the World appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Would you marry somebody the first day you met? Or get to know them for a while before committing?

Probably the latter. The same principle applies when committing to outdoor gear. Under the shiny lights of REI, amid all the new and eagerly marketed merchandise, everything looks ideal. But making a purchase under those conditions is like proposing based on somebody’s Tinder profile: impetuous, likely irrational, and overly optimistic, given your needs and expectations. You can鈥檛 know if something is a true fit until you鈥檝e covered tough terrain together.

And outdoor gear is a big commitment, considering that skis can retail for hundreds of dollars and bikes thousands. According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor and Statistics, the cost of outdoor equipment and supplies before cooling slightly to 9 percent again this year.

Fortunately, brands are cognizant of this. And to better help consumers determine which equipment is worth a long-term relationship, several have designed travel experiences that encourage you to try their equipment over a period of days (or weeks) days before you buy. What鈥檚 new is the specialized nature of the programs, which are looking to meet the needs of niche outdoors people鈥攚omen cyclists, for example, or novice campers, or avid recreationists from specific metro areas. What they are finding is a receptive, captive audience.

You, too, can get down and dirty with gear you鈥檙e considering before making a commitment. Here are our recommendations for some of the best brands offering travel-and-test adventures worth your time and money.

EvoTrip

This fall, recreational mountain biker Annika Delfs, who lives in San Diego and works in the mountain-bike department of an REI there, took part in a travel-and-test getaway to Utah with EvoTrip, a 15-year-old arm of the established retailer. Delfs got into mountain biking during the pandemic, and while she鈥檚 clocked quite a few hours on local trails over the past few years, she was reluctant to spring for a pricey off-road bike without hands-on experience and time to decide which model was right for her style of riding.

鈥淒emoing bikes in a store setting typically isn’t ideal for mountain bikes and mountain-bike gear,鈥� Delfs says. 鈥淚t’s definitely more beneficial to get a true sense of how the bike responds to different rocky or gravel trains, and see how the suspension performs.鈥�

So in September, she flew to Salt Lake City for a ($995), hosted in conjunction with Juliana bicycles and Momentum Mountain Biking, and for two days in nearby Park City she rode two Juliana bikes鈥攖he Furtado and Roubion (another two bikes, the Joplin and Wilder, were also available to participants).

Delfs said that testing the bikes 鈥渁t a bike park specifically, where we had access to jumps, drops, really any type of terrain you can think of for mountain biking,鈥� gave her time to learn about each and understand how they perform. She left with a much clearer idea of what she鈥檚 seeking in her next ride: 鈥淕ood rear suspension and low-hanging suspension.鈥�

The trip price included two nights鈥� accommodation at the year-old Evo Hotel, instruction by pro coaches, two lunches and daily snacks, and of course the demo models. The sold-out event was offered once last year, with available for two offerings in 2024.

At the moment, the Utah bike weekend Delfs attended is the only EvoTrip in which gear demos are included in the package price (though more are in the works). However, its trips aren鈥檛 limited to domestic locales; travel-and-test experiences in Japan, Chile, and the Alps include access to beautiful outdoor areas and iteneraries ideal for demoing skis, snowboards, and mountain bikes, says EvoTrip senior manager Michelle Linton.

For four of its Japanese destinations (Hakuba, Niseko, Furano, and Myoko), a 10 percent discount is offered on equipment rentals, which include skis and snowboards that retail for upward of $450 and as much as $1,000. Clients can choose to test Armada鈥檚 ARV JJ and Armada VJJ, K2鈥檚 Mindbender 106C and Mindbender 99Ti, and V枚lkl鈥檚 Deacon 84 and Revolt 121, as well as Burton鈥檚 Deep Thinker, Capita鈥檚 Birds of a Feather, Gnu鈥檚 B-Nice, Lib Tech鈥檚 Orca and Cold Brew, and Yes鈥檚 420.

Other trips include gear gifts that travelers can take home with them. On its eight-day adventure to the ($3,050, next scheduled for March 3 to 10), participants visit the Capita Snowboards factory, and everyone receives a free custom snowboard, says Linton.

贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍

In 1979, 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 founder 脜ke Nordin began lending trekking gear to beginners and guiding them through the Swedish wilderness. Thus began the first-ever 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 Week, which has evolved into a multi-country program called . These backpacking trips are offered in six countries: its home country, Denmark, South Korea, Germany, the UK, and the U.S. (Colorado). Chile is slated to join the lineup in 2024.

On Classics trips, backpackers carry their own gear and pitch their own camp, but they follow a clearly marked trail where 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 representatives are stationed along the way to lend a hand and replenish supplies.

The reasonable prices are one of the big appeals: they range from about $200 (Germany) to about $260 (Sweden). Costs cover everything from bus transportation to the nearest town before and after the event to freeze-dried food and snacks, gas for campstoves, toilet paper, and wag bags.

The cost of gear rental is additional but encouraged. For the Sweden trip, for example, you can test its Abisko tents鈥攖he Endurance 2, View 2, Dome 3, and Endurance 4, the least-expensive of which retails for $800鈥攁s well as 65-to-75-liter packs and Primus Lite+ or Primus Lite XL stoves. In 2023, trip-goers paid 100 Euros (about $107) to rent a two-person tent, 50 Euros ($54) for a backpack, and 50 Euros for a campstove and kitchen set.

Incorporating gear rentals into 贵箩盲濒濒谤盲惫别苍 Classics fosters inclusion and sustainability, says Claire Sisun, a global communications specialist for the Swedish brand.

鈥淲e have this gear, and we want you to be able to come out and not have to spend $600 on a tent to do the event,鈥� says Sisun. It鈥檚 more of a philosophy of 鈥淟et’s get you out there鈥� and less of a hard sell to consumers to buy the latest and greatest gear, she continues. 鈥淲e’d rather have somebody borrow a tent, and have multiple people use it hundreds of times, than have someone purchase a tent that they use once and then it sits in their garage.”

TrekTravel

To better cater to the huge world of cycling鈥檚 various fitness and interest levels, TrekTravel created biking trips to cater to four levels of riders: leisure, recreational, active, avid. One of its most popular is a new six-day leisure-level route from ($4,699), though active cyclists may prefer its six-day adventure in the ($4,199). The use of Trek鈥檚 or bikes are included in all packages, or you can upgrade to its Domane+ e-bike (from $399).

Most cyclists on a TrekTravel trip use a Trek bike, says Jake Fergus, the company鈥檚 director of marketing. It saves participants the hassle of shipping their own to and from the destination. Plus, he says, 鈥淚t’s a great way to experience a bike if you don’t want to spend $7,000 on a new ride before you鈥檝e tried it out pretty extensively.鈥�

If the trip proves that the brand鈥檚 bikes are a good fit for you, TrekTravel offers guests a $500 coupon to put toward a future Trek bike purchase.

Orvis 国产吃瓜黑料s

Orvis was founded in 1866 in Vermont as a fly-fishing-equipment company. And today use of fly-fishing gear is included in the cost of 鈥攁 network of schools, outfitters, and lodges鈥攁round the world. Colorado, Vermont, and Alaska are popular domestic getaways, says Scott McEnaney, its director, and is a hot international destination.

鈥淓ach location has gear there and ready to go for guests when they arrive,鈥� McEnaney says. 鈥淭hey’ll have waders, they’ll have boots your size, they’ll have the rods and reels for the type of fishing you’ll be doing that day鈥攚hich could mean multiple rods and reels.鈥�

Any gear that鈥檚 a keeper can be purchased directly at the Orvis 国产吃瓜黑料 Lodge where you鈥檙e staying, or from a retailer once you鈥檙e home.

L.L.Bean

This decades-old Maine company encourages novice campers to embrace the outdoors via its package, designed to let complete beginners get going with no gear investment.

A sustainable campsite for up to six people is set up at the oceanfront Wolfe鈥檚 Neck Center Campground in Freeport, Maine, and kitted out with the some of brand鈥檚 best gear, including its Northern Guide six-person tent, Adults鈥� Mountain Classic Camp sleeping bag, Ridge Runner sleeping pad, Flannel camp pillow, Eureka Ignite Plus campstove, ENO Double Nest hammock, Woodlands screen house, Waterproof Outdoor blanket, Acadia Camp chair, and Trailblazer Snap 300 Combo headlamp. Purchasing this entire setup would run you more than $1,600; instead, you can spend $149 per night and test all of that gear (two-night minimum required), with tips and tricks offered to make it a positive experience.

REI

Guided local outdoor experiences that include gear are offered at in San Francisco, Seattle, and Scottsdale, Arizona. For example, you can try your hand at in San Francisco or explore the deserts via a or ) in Scottsdale.

Want to experiment with gear on a DIY adventure? Each has a unique selection of rentals that include brands like REI Co-op as well as Black Diamond, Coleman, Jetboil MSR, NRS, and Rossignol. You can try everything from camping and rock-climbing equipment to essentials for cycling, paddling, and cross-country skiing.

During warm-weather months, REI sees the biggest interest from customers seeking camping necessities, namely sleeping bags and stoves; in the winter, the most popular rental item is snowshoes, says Ryan Holte, a stores-program specialist. Rental prices vary. Accessories like lanterns or trekking poles typically run for less than $15 per day; larger items, tandem kayaks, can go for $100 a day.

There鈥檚 no limit on how long an item can be rented. And while day-of rentals are offered, it鈥檚 a good idea to reserve gear ahead of time, especially on big outdoor weekends like Labor Day.

knows firsthand that packing scuba equipment in a carry-on is a great way to earn a TSA bag search. The former digital editor of Scuba Diving magazine, she now covers travel and water-related topics as a freelance journalist.

The post Gear-Testing Trips That Let You Try Before You Buy appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

Like any beloved seasonal activity, holiday shopping kicks off with a big opening weekend: Black Friday, on November 24, followed by Small-Business Saturday and Cyber Monday. An avalanche of ads are headed your way, and with them the opportunity to score a great flight deal鈥攆or those who know how to navigate the ins and outs of the discounts.

And there’s another day to keep on your radar for flight deals, too: entered the lineup six years ago. Backed by the travel industry, November 28 is also expected to woo consumers with discounts on flights, hotels, and vacation packages.

Although it now has a formal name, the Tuesday following Thanksgiving has for years 鈥渃onsistently offered the highest volume of deals in the post-holiday sales week,鈥� says Lindsay Schwimer, senior communications manager of , the accredited travel agency whose app is famous for predicting when airfares will drop. Hopper collects between 25 and 30 billion flight and hotel price quotes every day and has built a huge historical archive of trillions of prices from over the past ten years that analyze such data, she says.

This year, I’m going to follow rock-bottom prices somewhere鈥攁nywhere鈥攆abulous. My husband and I have yet to take our COVID-delayed honeymoon, and three years on, I’m happy to let the pricing algorithm听decide.

To guarantee that you get the best deal, start your research now and leverage these crucial tips from travel experts below.

Step 1: Be on the Lookout for Flight Deals Now

Get ahead of the game by looking out for discounts now. American Airlines has already launched domestic , while . And Costco members can capitalize on a that can be redeemed for $500 worth of flights.

Travelers who prefer to fly with a particular carrier should sign up for that airline鈥檚 newsletter. Some carriers will give subscribers early access to their holiday offers, improving your chances of snapping up cheap seats.

Step 2: Know What Fares Have Been Going for Before You Buy

Pre-sales preparation will optimize your search, especially if you have a specific destination in mind. All of the travel experts I spoke with recommend setting up flight alerts ahead of time. This will give you context about the going rates.

If you鈥檙e only now realizing you should have started investigating fares last month, don鈥檛 worry. You can still get a good sense of the going rate for your dream routes if you check your data with , says Clint Henderson, managing editor of , a well-regarded website that has long focused on travel deals. Its price-history tool displays a range of rates for your flight鈥攊ncluding high and low prices鈥攁nd as well as what it calls the 鈥渂est departing flight,鈥� based on cost and convenience. The site can also show you what it would cost to book the same length trip on different days.

Step 3: Be Flexible About Your Travel Dates

鈥淭he more open and flexible you are, the bigger winner you are in these Cyber, Black Friday, Travel Deal Tuesday games,鈥� says Gabe Saglie, 鈥媋 senior communications manager for , a site that publicizes travel deals and alerts its members about unbeatable rates for specific trips.

Airlines are unlikely to discount the most convenient flight times or the most popular routes鈥攖hose tickets tend to sell without the holiday razzle-dazzle. Instead, the best deals will usually be for the off-season or an atypical weekday departure. Keep this in mind to maximize savings.

Flexibility also extends to which airline you choose to fly with. Loyalty to a specific carrier limits the number of deals you have to choose from (although frequent-flier members can usually access additional sales鈥攎ore on that in a minute). Surveying the full field will increase the likelihood of finding that rock-bottom fare.

Even if you鈥檙e committed to a particular airline, you can still benefit from taking a flexible approach. A flight that leaves at 5:30 A.M. in February is likely to be discounted more heavily than an otherwise identical flight that leaves at noon during peak spring-break season, for example, letting you score savings even within a single airline鈥檚 service.

Step 4: Search for Rewards-Specific Deals

While airline loyalists have fewer sales to pick from, there are still perks to this approach. In addition to discounting the cash price of a ticket, many airlines offer their members mileage discounts this time of year鈥攁 great way for points-obsessed travelers to squeeze the juice out of every last mile.

鈥淒elta sometimes will have discounted mileage awards to Europe for as low as 22,000 Delta SkyMiles. Those are the kinds of deals I would look for on Black Friday,鈥� says The Points Guy鈥檚 Henderson.

Step 5: Wake Up Early the Day You Plan to Look for Deals

Set an alarm to make the most of all that preseason conditioning.

鈥淢ake sure you’re acting as early as possible,鈥� advises Henderson. Airlines frequently announce deals in the morning, and they are often only for a limited time or set number of seats. 鈥淚t’s all about acting fast on those days.

The day of, check any newsletters you鈥檝e subscribed to, surf airlines鈥� websites, and watch airlines鈥� social media accounts for live deal announcements. According to Hopper, quite a few airlines have already committed to offering Travel Deal Tuesday prices, including Aer Lingus, Air New Zealand, Explore Azores Islands, Fiji Airways, French Bee, Porter Airlines, SATA/Azores Airlines, and Singapore Airlines.

And anyone interested in visiting a national park and hoping to fly into a gateway city should check out United Airlines鈥� , which are expected to reflect any relevant deals over the holiday weekend.

To see deals from multiple airlines, watch the emails and posts from round-up services like The Points Guy, whose staff will be working to share the best deals its team can find. The travel section of its site lists flash sales, deals on both major and low-cost carriers, and limited offers, so it pays to check back regularly.

Step 6: Do All the Math Before You Book

Let鈥檚 assume you do it all right: You research fares before Black Friday, get up before sunrise to scan various sites, and find a good price for just the place you want to go during a time you can travel. Great! But don鈥檛 hit Purchase quite yet.

Look into the ticket鈥檚 fine print. The last thing you want is a surprise fee that turns your cheap getaway into an average-price (or costly) trip. A $29 ticket on a budget ticket may not include baggage fees, for example, especially if you鈥檙e bringing sport gear.

鈥淭his is part of being prepared,鈥� says Travelzoo鈥檚 Saglie. If 鈥淚’m looking for a deal to destinations for a big family ski trip, and I want to bring my equipment along, then I want to know what specific airlines might charge, as it does vary.鈥�

The same goes for surfboards. 鈥淪ome airlines won’t charge you for a surfboard, because they consider it checked luggage, whereas other airlines will charge $100, $150, or $200,鈥� Saglie says.

Step 7: Keep Monitoring Airfare Prices

If you book on Cyber Monday and then find a better price on Travel Deal Tuesday, don鈥檛 let buyer鈥檚 remorse overwhelm you. You can keep shopping for a better deal鈥攚ithin limits.

If you book directly with an airline and that price drops within 24 hours of when you booked it, you can cancel and your credit card will be fully reimbursed,听says Katy Nastro, a spokesperson for听听(formerly Scott’s Cheap Flights).听Not just a trip credit, she emphasized: 鈥淵ou get a full refund.鈥�

Some airlines offer similar deals for mileage shoppers. 鈥淭he beauty of buying airfare with miles is that if you鈥檝e already got a ticket in hand, you can cancel it without any penalty. They will put those miles back into your account,鈥� says Saglie. 鈥淚f I’m looking at that same flight, that’s now 30 percent fewer miles required [than yesterday], I can go back in, cancel, and rebook just because I’m saving myself 20,000 miles a ticket.鈥�

first experienced the magic of cheap flights when she scored a round-trip ticket from Chicago to Vietnam for under $600. She鈥檚 stretched every travel dollar since while working as freelance journalist and digital editor of Scuba Diving magazine.

The post 7 Steps to Find the Best Black Friday Flight Deals appeared first on 国产吃瓜黑料 Online.

While researching an 国产吃瓜黑料 story on high-end adventure tourism, I spoke twice by Zoom with Stockton Rush, the CEO of OceanGate Expeditions, once in 2021 and again in 2022. The company is located in Everett, 25 miles north of Seattle.

Energetic and passionate, Rush talked about the need to advance the world鈥檚 oceanic knowledge and why he was pursuing deep-sea tourism as a business. A picture of an OceanGate submersible cockpit served as his video-chat background, giving him the appearance of taking my calls from the helm of his fleet.

Rush and four others disappeared in the Titan on Sunday, June 18, during a dive to see the historic wreck of the Titanic. A fervent search-and-rescue mission ensued across an area about 900 miles off the coast of Cape Cod鈥攊n a region often referred to as twice the size of Connecticut鈥攁s the sub鈥檚 final hours of oxygen were believed to be dwindling.

In an update at 3 P.M. ET on June 22, Coast Guard officials announced that a 鈥渃atastrophic implosion,鈥� which instantly killed all the passengers, occurred in the submersible, and offered 鈥渉eartfelt condolences.鈥� Debris from the submersible was found on a smooth section of sea floor 1,600 feet off the bow of the Titanic by a remotely operated vehicle searching the site.

Three adventurers were onboard with Rush: British businessman and explorer Hamish Harding, and Pakistani businessman Shahzada Dawood and his 19-year-old son, Suleman. The French maritime expert Paul-Henri Nargeolet was also onboard, serving as the sub鈥檚 Titanic expert after more than 35 dives to the wreck.

While marine rescue is never simple, 罢颈迟补苍鈥檚 depth complicated this mission even more. The Titanic rests 12,500 feet deep, so it took two-and-a-half hours for his sub just to reach the wreckage, Rush told me.

What We Know About Stockton Rush, OceanGate CEO

Rush, 61, graduated from Princeton in 1984 with a degree in aerospace engineering. He had become the world鈥檚 youngest jet-transport rated pilot at age 19, and went on to build his own Glasair III experimental aircraft in 鈥�89鈥攖he same year he earned an MBA from U.C. Berkeley. Rush led several successful IP ventures over the subsequent decades and served on the board of multiple tech companies. He married Wendy Rush, also a Princeton 鈥�84 graduate, who works as communications director at OceanGate. In an uncanny coincidence, Wendy is the descendant of the married couple Isidor and Ida Straus, who died in the Titanic sinking in 1912.

How Rush Launched His OceanGate Business

When Rush recognized in his 40s that he would never achieve his dream of being the first person to walk on Mars, he told in 2017, he turned his attention to the sea. He then built his own submersible (which he dived in over 30 times). In 2009, he founded , to conduct commercial research and exploration. Moving sub research and development into the private sector, Rush aimed to bring down the cost of deep-sea exploration and to make it more accessible to scientists and researchers. On most trips, scientists are on board. OceanGate has provided grants for scientific and archaeological marine research through its .

While OceanGate has offered other underwater exploration trips, like to the , the Titanic expeditions have been the company鈥檚 marquee project. Fusing research and tourism, missions discovered a deep-sea reef and another shipwreck, collected environmental DNA, and captured the first 8K footage of the Titanic (see video below). Private individuals have paid $250,000 to take part in the trips, helping underwrite the cost of the research. Hamish Harding,听 Shahzada Dawood and his son, Suleman, were such participants.

The Titan was one of very few vessels capable of reaching these depths with humans on board. The only other one in operation is The Limiting Factor, which was until recently owned by Victor Vescovo. The Deepsea Challenger, the submersible that James Cameron went down in to see the Titanic, was damaged in a highway fire听in 2015.

When we talked, Rush was frank that his company pushed the boundaries of underwater exploration.

鈥淣argelot made a comment to somebody that every deep diving submarine is a prototype, that they haven’t made more than one of all of them,鈥� Rush told me last year. 鈥淭he first year we had prototype issues, we had some equipment problems. We had some tracking and communications problems. We overcame those, and by the end got to the Titanic and took a bunch of people down.鈥�

As many are questioning the ethics of deep-sea tourism and safety issues with the design of 罢颈迟补苍鈥檚 carbon fiber hull鈥攁nd as we await the results of the ongoing investigation about what happened鈥攈ere are Rush鈥檚 thoughts from our conversations about diving the Titanic.

The following conversation has been edited for length and clarity. It includes comments from my conversations with Rush in March 2021 and September 2022.

国产吃瓜黑料: Why visit the Titanic? Why do these expeditions?

Rush: The Titanic is just such a unique thing underwater. I like to say that if you stopped someone on the street and said name three things in the deep ocean, they’re gonna say sharks, whales, and the Titanic. Everything else is a distant second.

There are some other great wrecks that we hope to go see, and there are great wrecks we鈥檝e seen before. But the Titanic really has captured the world’s imagination, and it is the pinnacle of things underwater at this time. And it’s a proven site that people want to visit. When the Russians were in need of hard cash, they did some tourist trips out to the Titanic. James Cameron went to it [numerous] times. There’s some history about people wanting to go see it.

Equally important is, it’s decaying and nobody really knows how fast. So there’s a lot of science that hasn’t been able to be done on the Titanic. Past exercises in tourism didn’t do any science, and ours is all going to be focused on not just the decay of the Titanic, but also looking at the biology. There are hundreds of species that have only been found on the Titanic wreck.

The short answer to your questions is the Titanic draws attention. It’s a great research component. It鈥檚 basically an artificial reef in the abyssal plain, and what life forms are there? What fish and corals and the like is a huge question. And it’s decaying and we don’t know how fast.

What are the scientific objectives?

They’re twofold. There’s an archeological component. The fundamental question is the one everyone wants to know: When is the thing going to collapse? 鈥� It鈥檚 being eaten by bacteria that are literally eating the steel, eating the iron. So with the laser scaler, we’ve been able to take measurements of the expansion joint that was in the ship as well as the starboard crack鈥’d say the number-one [archeological] goal, other than to document its current state, is to come up with a better answer to how long it will be recognizable. That鈥檚 how I like to define it, because it will always be an artificial reef.

The biological objectives are longer term, and that’s really where we’re focusing. How does that as an artificial reef compare to other structures around the Titanic that don’t have this metal structure there? And how is that changing? How are these creatures growing and being colonized? How are they colonizing other sites nearby?

One of the key elements of the Titanic that I get is: Why do we go back to the Titanic? We’ve been there a lot, and it has been visited a lot. But what’s amazing is, there are very, very few sites鈥攁 handful, probably鈥攖hat get visited more than once, when you get down to this kind of depth, more than 3,000 meters. There’s so much to be explored that if you’re a typical research organization, you’re just going to go to a hydrothermal vent, you’re going to analyze it, you’re gonna go to another one. Or you’re going to go to a subsea canyon and document the flora and fauna. But you’re not gonna go back again, because there are so many other sites to go to.

Because people want to go to the Titanic, it’s a very unique opportunity, because they’re going to pay us to go there. And now we can go every year. I don’t think there’s anywhere else on planet Earth at that depth where you’re gonna be able to take researchers every year to get that kind of granular data: 鈥楬ey, this type of coral is more prevalent, here it’s not.鈥� That’s quite relevant, because there are a million shipwrecks, and there are tens of thousands that are in the deep ocean from World War II. We really don’t know their impact and how they’re affecting the ecosystem. The scientists are pretty excited, because you just don’t get that opportunity.

Given the scientific aspect of your expeditions, why involve Mission Specialists (what OceanGate calls the paying tourists)?

I started OceanGate back in 2009, with the idea that there were two needs out there.

The first one was, we knew very little about the ocean. Our knowledge of the ocean, particularly the deep ocean, anything below scuba-diving depth鈥攊t’s sad, very sad, how small it is. It’s getting better, and there are a lot of efforts to increase ocean knowledge, but we don’t have it. And there were researchers who wanted to go and actually see the environment in person, not just look at an image from a robot.

So you had on the research side a huge need. But subs were expensive. I knew from my own personal travel experience that there was also this growing market of people who want to do a different type of travel. In particular, I looked at Earthwatch and how they were able to get people to pay to work on archeological digs. They had the same kind of thing: a great need for manpower to dig an archaeological site and help fund it and a research need. So I thought in the ocean, maybe there’s a match there.

That’s really what OceanGate鈥檚 been working on for the last 10 years, coming up with different projects. We’ve done over 18 major expeditions (at much less cost than the Titanic) matching these adventure travelers who want to do something different than just sit and then get a tourist experience where somebody tells them what’s going on. They want to be involved in both the planning of the operation and the execution and the follow up. That’s why we’ve set up the Titanic mission and why we bring the Mission Specialists, because they help underwrite the cost of doing this research.

Who are you finding is in the current market for these experiences? Who are the people that are coming to participate?

It’s a remarkably diverse group. The Titanic is an outlier in that it is such an iconic piece. So on the Titanic we have what are often referred to as Titaniacs. These are people who are just [obsessed]. I’ve had young kids come up and say, 鈥淚 just love the Titanic. I know everything about the Titanic.鈥澨�Yet they weren’t even born when the movie came out, which was a huge bump in enthusiasm. There’s been something like 16 feature-length movies on the Titanic. Lord knows how many books. So in the Titanic world, we have the folks who are just all Titanic. They really want to see it.

That’s probably half of our client base. The other half are these people who are these adventure travelers who go scuba diving in Indonesia or set up their own safari off the grid in Africa. One couple shipped their bikes to Croatia and started biking without a backroads guide or anything. So they’re definitely early adopters this first year.

They range in age from I think 26 to 80. We’ve actually taken a 92-year-old gentleman in the sub. They range from people who have climbed Everest to people who are not that physically able. We’ve designed the sub to handle the average person. Our requirements are: you should be able to climb a ladder or stand on a chair, and get up off the floor (you can use your hands). Basic agility is really all we need, given what we’ve done to design the experience. We try and make it as accessible as possible.

For the Mission Specialists that first time that they see the Titanic, when they’ve made such an effort to get there, what is that moment like?

It varies from specialist to specialist. In general, everyone says it’s more amazing than they expect. They have an idea of what it’s gonna look like from the movie, or maybe some of our earlier videos. But when you get there, the colors are just incredible. And the colors鈥攁s you get closer and closer, once you get within about five feet, all of a sudden the oranges and the reds come out. It’s this pastel portrait. It’s so amazingly beautiful as a wreck.

Then you’ve got this giant window [on the sub]. One of the great things is it’s 21 inches, so you can have three people all looking at the same image and not looking at this teeny little porthole like they had to do with the Russian Mir subs. That ability to be in a group setting and have multiple people is really one of the key elements鈥ith five people they really get an interesting dynamic. You get two and a half hours going down. People get to know people.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x40SAJS2whY

Can you tell me about the personal travels that inspired you?

I built my own airplane and went in the early 2000s on a trip to Central America with a group called the Baja Bush Pilots Association. That was sort of a weird form of extreme travel: 21 private planes flying through Central America, [landing on] the little dirt strips all over the place鈥 realized that the trips I enjoyed most, it really depended on it being different and having a purpose. I really didn鈥檛 enjoy going and looking at a museum. It’s OK, but I’d rather go out and hike or explore a new area鈥�.

If you want to do extreme travel, one of the other challenges was, I’m not going to be climbing Everest. That鈥檚 something that has huge physical requirements, time requirements, and other things. I had wanted to go to space, and I still do, maybe when it gets cheaper. But when I looked at space, I thought there wasn’t a purpose there. I’d love to go work on the space station for a month, but that’s not generally available at any real price point.

So I looked at my own personal experience, and that of the folks that I travel with, I said, going somewhere with an exploration鈥攖his bush pilot thing was like we showed up without a purpose, and you land in the middle of nowhere. And you have to figure out where’s the hotel? Where am I going to get gas and all these little鈥擨 liked problem-solving. Those experiences and my love of the ocean blended together.

What is this article going to be about?

Exploring tourism at the edge of existence, including space and deep-sea travel.

We’ve been talking to a couple of the space folks on using the sub as a space analog鈥�. The only really good [analog] is underwater, because in that case, you’re in a capsule with some people in a life-threatening or a potentially dangerous environment. It’s about as close to being in a space capsule [as we] can get.

If you mock it up on the surface, you know, 鈥業 can just open the door and go to McDonald’s if I don’t like it.鈥� When you鈥檙e in the sub, it’s a good stress test. We鈥檙e talking to the space folks about, 鈥淗ey really your folks should go in a sub. If they want to go to space or they want to go to Mars. If they want to go around the moon, a good training exercise is to put them in a setup where they’re in there with four other people for 12 hours, two and a half miles away from anything. If they’re going to lose it, that’s where they’ll lose it.鈥�

How accessible is deep-ocean exploration right now in your view, and what needs to change for it to become more broadly accessible?

If you want to go on the web and see pictures of deep-sea creatures, that’s becoming more accessible. If you want to actually go down and see them and be part of that discovery process, it’s extremely inaccessible.

The only way you’re gonna get into the deep ocean in a submarine is if you work for NOAA, or you have a PhD and you can get time on Alvin or one of the deep-diving subs, or you’re a billionaire. There are a number of billionaires鈥擱ay Dalio, Victor Vescovo, who made the sub to go to the Mariana Trench. Then you have to be a friend of theirs, or have something to offer鈥� If you want to dive shallow, there are a few subs out there. So [if you] want to go 100 feet, or 1000 feet even, you can do that. But if you want to get to the average depth of the ocean of 4,000 meters, there really isn’t an opportunity to do that.

What would need to change for those sorts of experiences to become more broadly accessible, like you’re working on?

We came at it from that perspective. My perspective is from a business background, and I looked at what was happening鈥�.There were a number of projects, but they were typically altruistic. The idea was, We’re going to either go to the government to get money, or go get donations to do a project.

To make a business, and the only way we’re going to get more people underwater is to have more subs available, more people doing it so the price can come down. That’s what we did with OceanGate. We do dives in the Puget Sound area that are only $2,500 to be a Mission Specialist, up to the Titanic [at $250,000]. What needs to happen is鈥攁nd I hope to have many imitators鈥攜ou need to have more OceanGate subs out there, or more OceanGate-like subs鈥�.We are hoping to lead the way in that so that if you come to, say, New York City, one of the things you might be able to do is go dive in the Hudson Canyon at a reasonable price. It’s always going to be expensive, but we hope it gets down to the cost of, you know, premium seats at a Super Bowl game or something like that.

Is there anything else important I should have asked?

I think the biggest piece for us鈥s this need for knowledge of the ocean. We all were taught that two-thirds to three-quarters of the planet is underwater, but it’s actually 95-plus percent of the livable volume. Most of the life on this planet is underwater. If there’s life in the solar system, it’s probably aquatic. If there’s life in the universe, it is largely aquatic. NASA came to this conclusion that where you have water and energy and carbon, you have life. They find that with these extremophiles and the like.

The size of the opportunities is going to require lots of methods of exploring it. There’s a place for the average person to contribute and to really get out there and do something. That’s really what we want to do, be able to make it accessible to help advance our knowledge of the world.

of Ann Arbor, Michigan, is a freelance writer who specializes in water and travel coverage. Her writing has appeared in NPR, National Geographic, and other national outlets. She is the former digital editor of Scuba Diving magazine.

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