Articles

As always, we couldn’t wrap up 2025 without highlighting some of our favorite travel articles from the past year! Of course, we featured some well-known locations like Indonesia and French Polynesia, but we also made sure to highlight some off-the-beaten-path destinations like Cape Town, Bikini Atoll and South Australia. If you are looking for a bit of inspiration heading into 2026, with regards to preparing for your next dive trip or your next photographic quest, take a look through some of these wonderful features—and let the planning begin!

1. French Polynesia: The Treasures of Tahiti and Her Islands

By Anita Verde

So much comes to mind when one conjures up thoughts of French Polynesia—whether it be beautiful green islands, pristine beaches, or general relaxation. However, DPG Field Editor Anita Verde chooses to focus on what lies beneath the waves of French Polynesia’s vast expanse of ocean. From humpback whales, to shark-filled lagoons, to fish-filled reefs, French Polynesia has a little of everything. Tahiti, Fakarava, Rangiroa and Mo'orea all offer something unique to the diver or underwater photographer and are all well-worth a visit.
 

2. South Australia: Mission Leafy Seadragon

By Nigel Motyer

The Great Southern Reef system, along the southern edge of Australia, is home to some of the world’s most incredible marine creatures. Perhaps chief among them is the whimsical, fantastical, and, dare-I-say, magical leafy seadragon. This relative of the seahorse is a bucket-list creature for many a diver and photographer and is found nowhere else on Earth. Nigel Motyer traveled to the chilly waters of South Australia with the goal of finding the leafies, and he was successful. Plus, alongside the seadragons, he found and photographed a whole host of other marine creatures. From jetties, to seagrass beds, to sea lion-filled bays, take a trip with Nigel on “Mission Leafy Seadragon.”
 

3. Destination Portfolio: Sydney, Daniel Sly

By Daniel Sly

The capital of New South Wales is most famous for one of two things: the Sydney Opera House, or Finding Nemo (which also happens to feature the Opera House). Sydney resident Daniel Sly brings you Down Under (the surface) to show off Sydney’s stunning array of marine life. While there are big animals to be found, it is the muck diving arena in which Sydney truly shines. Home to everything from blue-lined octopuses, to pygmy pipehorses, to endemic species like Red Indian fish and red-fingered anglerfish, the diversity of weird and wonderful critters is enough to entice photographers from all over the globe. While the underwater ecosystem may not look like much, the treasures found within are absolutely worth a visit.
 

4. Indo Master: From Black Sand to Never Never Land

By Anita Verde

For lovers of Indonesia diving, the route aboard the Indo Master from the muck mecca of the Lembeh Strait to the riotous reefs of Misool in Raja Ampat may just be the Holy Grail trip. Over nearly two weeks, the luxurious liveaboard ferries divers and photographers along a 600-mile path through the Coral Triangle. Bring every lens you have on this one, as you’ll be photographing frogfish in the muck as well as massive schools of fish in the open blue. Anita Verde wonderfully captures this odyssey in words and pictures (with some help from her hubby) and makes a compelling case for making this your next big adventure on the high seas.
 

5. Siladen Resort and Spa: Pristine Perfection

By Talia Greis

Nestled between the warm waters of the tropical Pacific and the edge of the rainforest in Bunaken Marine Park lies Siladen Resort and Spa. Talia Greis highlights the exceptional experience of staying and diving with Siladen. This is one of the world’s most diverse regions for marine life, promising access to stunning walls replete with turtles and jaw-dropping reefs, as well as critter-rich muck dives and weird-and-wonderful blackwater dives. Bring every lens—you’ll need them all to make the most of this aquatic paradise!
 

6. Discovering Raja Ampat with Kri Eco Resort

By Nicolas Remy

Raja Ampat is the global center of marine biodiversity, and lying smack in the heart of Raja’s Dampier Strait is Kri Eco Resort. DPG Field Editor Nicolas Remy had an immersive visit at Kri with Papua Diving Resorts, which owns both Kri and nearby Sorido Bay Resort. Kri Eco Resort is more than just a name, and the resort supports community initiatives to protect the nearby reefs and marine life that are such an integral part of this region. From mantas to pygmy seahorses, Raja has it all, and the luxury afforded by the resort is the perfect place from which to experience the center of the Coral Triangle.
 

7. Red Sea Rhapsody: The Brothers to the Deep South with Master Liveaboards

By Anita Verde

With Master Liveaboards, Anita Verde and Peter Marshall travel on a classic southern Red Sea liveaboard, traveling from Hurghada to the Brothers Islands, Daedalus Reef, Elphinstone, down to the Deep South. Wonderful visibility makes for a lovely diving experience on healthy coral reefs, spectacular marine life, pelagic animals, caves, and historic wrecks. This is the perfect trip for divers and underwater photographers desiring a well-rounded Red Sea experience on board a beautiful and comfortable vessel.
 

8. Triple Treat in North Sulawesi with Murex Resorts and Lembeh Resort

By Anita Verde

Murex Resorts’ and Lembeh Resort’s “Passport to Paradise” is a wonderful underwater journey for those traveling to North Sulawesi. This region is most famous for the Lembeh Strait and of course the Strait is the final stop of the journey, but only after exploring the stunning walls of Bunaken Marine Park and the coral gardens of Bangka. This trip provides something for everyone and gives an opportunity to flex all your photographic muscles in a number of different disciplines. Anita Verde and Peter Marshall’s trip report is incredibly enticing and the pictures speak for themselves. Add the “Passport to Paradise” to your bucket list!
 

9. Diving Bikini Atoll – Part I, Part II, and Part III

By Don Silcock

Most famous as a playground for the US military and its affinity for blowing things up, Bikini Atoll is where the Trinity Tests were conducted. Post World War II, the United States tested bigger and bigger atom bombs in the waters around the atoll and sunk any number of decommissioned ships in the process. DPG Field Editor Don Silcock provides a history lesson on the background of this remarkable place and takes you on a deep, deep adventure to explore some of World War II's forgotten relics, casualties of mankind’s constant technological march forward. Both interesting and spooky, diving Bikini Atoll is not for the faint of heart, and is diveable only by the most skilled and experienced divers among us.
 

10. Destination Portfolio: Cape Town, Kate Jonker

By Kate Jonker

Lying near the very southern tip of Africa, the famed coastal city of Cape Town sits on the edge of a marine wonderland. Temperate waters fuel a huge diversity and variety of underwater ecosystems and their corresponding cast of characters. Towering kelp forests are the domain of octopuses and nudibranchs, shallow rocky tide pools hold anemones and blennies, and the deeper, offshore waters are the playground of pelagic sharks. While tropical reefs are often heralded as the most colorful places on Earth, temperate seas, like that around Cape Town, easily rival the most riotous coral reefs. Cape Town resident Kate Jonker showcases the wonderful array of life to be found in her local waters, a feast for the eyes of both macro and wide-angle subjects. Dive in!