Great Escapes Diving Holidays

23/12/2024

Before we are all too tipsy on mulled wine or having arguments about the last mince pie, we just wanted to let you know that our office will be closed from 5pm on Monday 23rd December until 9am Thursday 2nd January 2025.

We also want to wish everyone a very wonderful Christmas and a happy & healthy New Year!

From Graham, Chris, Kim and, of course, Noodle 🎄

02/12/2024

Our very own Matt and Anne-Marie Kitchen-Wheeler are just back from a fabulous trip on Emperor Voyager, and are now greatly looking forward to the special 14 night charter joining the boat on 1st March 2025, which will be heading north to the quieter atolls, away from the crowds of the central and southern Maldives during peak season. The routing will travel north to visit the less-visited manta points on the west side of Raa atoll and the amazing thilas of the northern atolls, where you can see incredible soft corals, huge coral formations and hopefully some of the less-sighted shark species including Zebra and scalloped hammerheads. Also expected are spotted and bowmouth guitar sharks, and healthy populations of grey sharks, in their natural environment of channel mouths and visiting cleaning stations, as well as the colourful schools of fish and little things which are always found throughout the atolls. MV Emperor Voyager has had a refurbishment to improve the cabins and public spaces and welcomes Salaam as boat manager, who had previously worked on other boats in the Maldives Emperor fleet. (Photos from Matt and AM's previous North trips).

Who says the perfect Christmas present doesn't exist?!...

We have limited spaces available, so get in touch with Santa (or his elves on 01449 535010 / [email protected]) as soon as possible so you don't miss out!

For more information, please click on the following link;
https://www.greatescapesdiving.com/exclusive-escapes/

12/11/2024

Chris has just got back from his East African adventure and had an amazing time in the Serengeti, Ngorongoro Crater and Bwindi Impenetrable Forest. All of these experiences can be booked through Great Escapes courtesy of Jewel Safaris Africa and we will shortly be adding plenty of safari options to our website. These photos should inspire you to visit!

23/07/2024

I had a fantastic time at Golden Rock Resort, Dive & Nature Resort - St. Eustatius Here are some of the highlights from my trip, and recommendations for must-do activities on the island.

Hike the Quill volcano – this is a must-do. Hot and sweaty, yes, but well worth the climb to reach the rim and to gaze into the crater to see the incredible and lush rainforest.

Go diving – of course you must! The marine park here is larger than the island itself and the diving was a mix of very healthy coral reefs and wrecks. Fish numbers are high and so many turtles!

Historical tour of the capital town, Oranjestad – this island has so much history! With no customs rules enforced at the time, it became known as the Golden Rock by traders during the 17th and 18th Century. The dark side of this free trading meant that the island was to become infamous for the trading of contraband and slaves.

Enjoy the resort – how could you not! This is a stunning resort, set within 40 acres of beautiful gardens, with two restaurants and two pools. A perfect place to relax, eat amazing food and to watch the hummingbirds buzzing around the flowers and plants.

I highly recommend you consider a trip to this resort. Check it out on our website https://www.greatescapesdiving.com/golden-rock-dive-nature-resort/ and if you want to find out more, please do give us a call at the office or drop us an email.

14/07/2024

It is great to be here at Golden Rock Resort, Dive & Nature Resort - St. Eustatius. If you are looking for something a bit different in the Caribbean then this might just be it. St Eustatius - or just Statia as it is known by locals - is a hidden gem in the Caribbean. An island with a small population of around 4500 that has avoided mass tourism to offer a true and authentic slice of the Caribbean.

Statia's landscape is dominated by the Quill; a 600m high dormant volcano now covered in lush rainforest, which is the backdrop to the Golden Rock Dive & Nature Resort - a contemporary resort, set within 40 acres of beautifully landscaped gardens. With a mission to be the Caribbean's leading sustainable, lifestyle resort, it includes its own 20,000 square feet greenhouse - where organic herbs and vegetables are grown and served in its two restaurants - and 2240 solar panels to provide the resort with 24hr electricity.

I will be doing a few posts over the next few days to let you know what I am up to whilst here. For now, first impressions are wow! Stunning.

Check it out on our website https://www.greatescapesdiving.com/golden-rock-dive-nature-resort/

12/04/2024

If you are not enjoying this wet weather (unlike our office dog Noodle) why not think about escaping to the Caribbean?
Our Tobago page is now live and includes the wonderful Blue Waters Inn and Manta Suites at Tobago Dive Experience
Contact us for more information!
https://www.greatescapesdiving.com/tobago/

09/04/2024

We are all working really hard to add new destinations to our ever expanding website, and are excited to be able to offer the Golden Rock Resort, Dive & Nature Resort - St. Eustatius. Graham met up with Natasha from the resort recently to learn more about this beautiful undiscovered island in the Caribbean, nestled between St. Baarts, St. Maarten and St. Kitts. The page will be going live this week so keep an eye out - it's definitely one for the bucket list!

05/03/2024

It was great to catch up with Kevin and Cody from All Star Liveaboards at last weekend’s Go Diving Show. They have a fantastic fleet of liveaboards covering Cuba, British Virgin Islands, Bahamas, Indonesia, Philippines and the Red Sea. Do contact us to find out more about these great trips. 👍

05/03/2024

It was great to share a stand with Alphamarine Photography Ltd again at the Go Diving Show over the weekend. If you fancy joining Phil and Anne on their next Photography Workshop to Dive into Lembeh in Nov 2025, do get in touch with us to get yourself booked onto the trip. Head on over to our website to find out more: https://www.greatescapesdiving.com/exclusive-escapes/

A big thank you to everybody who came to speak to us on our stand, attended the workshops and listened to our Photo Stage presentation at this year's Go Diving Show. For us the show was probably our busiest ever, we really didn't stop both days. If you didn't get chance to speak to us because we were busy do drop us an email at [email protected] or message us. We're now looking for to the Dive Ireland Expo next month.

04/03/2024

We had a great time at the Go Diving Show this weekend - it was lovely to see our wonderful repeat guests and to meet some new ones!
It was also a great opportunity to catch up with our friends in the dive industry including Lani, Kay and Joanne from the brilliant Mermaid Liveaboards - Asia's Premier Liveaboard Fleet - who never stop smiling 😁

26/02/2024

Wondering what to do this weekend?...
How about taking a trip to Coventry to visit the Go Diving Show at Stoneleigh Park?!
We will be on Stand No. 308 with Alphamarine Photography Ltd and would love to see you!
Tickets can be purchased in advance at; https://godivingshow.com/

22/12/2023

It's that time of year again...
Wishing you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year full of adventures!

15/12/2023

After their recent amazing trip to Lembeh, we are very pleased to announce that Phil and Anne Medcalf will be hosting another Alphamarine Photography Ltd Workshop at Dive Into Lembeh Resort in November 2025!

You can join Phil and Anne on this fantastic and exclusive 12 night trip to photograph the amazing critters of Lembeh Strait from 26 Nov – 08 Dec 2025 for 12nts, with 11 days diving / 3 guided boat dives per day at Dive into Lembeh

This will be a great chance to hone your photography skills and to gain tips from Phil and Anne, who will be on hand to help you get the best possible shots throughout the trip.

For further details please see our Exclusive Escapes page: https://www.greatescapesdiving.com/exclusive-escapes/

For more information about Alphamarine Photography, visit their website: alphamarinephoto.com

These trips are very popular so contact us now to secure your space 🐠